


The Cabin

by ruffledparasols



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, Missing Year (Once Upon a Time), Outlaw Queen Week
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-09
Updated: 2015-06-21
Packaged: 2018-04-03 14:32:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 29,191
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4104361
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ruffledparasols/pseuds/ruffledparasols
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>prompt: How about one set in the missing year, where Regina and Robin are patrolling the woods looking for monkeys, when they are attacked and Regina hurts her leg so they have to take cover in a cabin, and Robin takes care of her leg, and Regina really wants to kiss him, but sees his tattoo and gets scared again, and the next day acts like it didn't happen.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> as it is apparent, this story came from a prompt. it was originally meant to be written as a one shot but then it appeared that people wanted more! so do enjoy - the cabin!

She stepped over a thicket of buttercups nearly losing her balance. She straightened automatically hoping that he wouldn't notice.

"You alright Milady?"

He did. _Damn it._

"I suggest you keep your eyes on the skies thief if we are ever going to find these monkeys."  _And off of me,_ she thought.

She heard a grunt from behind her and took that as a sign of his reluctant understanding.

She had no sympathy for the man. She hadn't asked for him to come along. In fact she had adamantly stated that she didn't want him there, or near her, at all.

But, of course, he hadn't listened. He had stayed long past his welcome, patrolling the halls of her castle as if he was one of her guard. And the moment that Snow White had jumped on board with the idea of him being her unofficial 'protector' she couldn't get a word in edgewise.

So he was there. Following her every step. She was beyond annoyed.

But not entirely at the man. But at herself.

She was causing herself more problems than she was solving. She couldn't seem to keep her eyes off of the rugged thief. For every part of him that she found annoying there was an equal or greater part that she found unwelcomely attractive. The way he looked. The way his accent flared when he talked to her. The way he walked. That was why he was currently behind her as she hurried forward, for she knew her eyes would be on him if they were reversed.

She wondered if he felt the same tingles she did when he was in her presence. Quickly, she shot a peak over her shoulder, to find him staring directly at her hips.

A blush warmed her cheeks as she raised brow.  _So he was as attracted to looking at her as she was at him?_  Her smirk grew as she whipped her head back around in the hopes that he wouldn't catch her looking at him, but her ascent was paused when a flurry of wings before her arrested her attention.

_Monkey_!

"Your Majesty!" He yelled, but it was to late. The winged beast had swooped down in the midst of her not paying attention.

She conjured a fireball but the beast was already upon her. He swung his powerful talons effectively slicing at her dresses, tearing them to shreds. The thief fired arrow after arrow but the beast was to fast. When it hooked his claws into it's desired point, her bodice, it began to ascend, lifting her up with it.

She heard his yells from the ground. But by now the thief was too far below her for her to make out his words. The beast flapped its monstrous wings, the wind from them causing the fire to extinguish in her palms.

Suddenly and arrow whizzed loudly past her ear, slicing right through the beasts left wing. The monkey howled in pain, effectively breaking the arrow, embedding it deeper into it's feathers. It's shaking was thunderous, talons retracting fast as it fought to get away from it's attacker. The beast freed itself and began to fly away as fast as it could with it's wounded wing. Regina was overjoyed that she was free of the foul creatures clutches. Until she felt the wind whip around her, thrashing her long hair, leaving small cuts across her face, and she realized her dilemma. She was falling.

Falling.

Falling.

And her magic still wasn't working.

All she heard was the thief screams next to her as she plummeted to the ground. All she could smell was the scent of some far away forest surround her as the black took over her vision.

xxx

It was dark when she awoke. She could hear the sound of a fire crackling close by, she could feel the warmth of multiple heavy blankets covering her making her break out into a sweat.

_Was she back in her palace?_

She went to remove some of the warmth when suddenly a sharp pain shot directly through her thigh causing her to drop the blankets and scream out in anguish.

The sound of pots crashing alerted her to the second presence in the room but she didn't care. The sting of the pain that was coursing through her was making her delirious.

"Milady! Are you alright?!"

As much as she wanted to respond sarcastically with a ' _does it look like I'm alright?!'_  she couldn't. The pain was excruciating and she could barely concentrate enough to remember to breathe.

Oh wait.  _Nope_. No, she forgot that to.

The last thing she remembered was a pair of strong hands holding her before her head hit the pillows.

xxx

When she awoke the second time the stars were shining brightly outside of the large window to her right, casting their light into her eyes. She blinked groggily, trying to shake the sleep from her eyes when the figure that was hovering over her materialized into view.

It was the thief.

There was a deep crease in his brow as he bent over her. She could just make out the determined look in his eyes as he worked. The starlight seemed to hit is hair, turning it a soft color of honey brown. He was concentrated, staring at some fixed point on her and he had yet to notice her change in breathing. He didn't know she was awake.

She realized that in the time that they had spent together they had rarely had a moment alone. When they did it was in passing, down a hallway or running into each other in some corridor. The times that they did find themselves utterly alone, after a council meeting or dinner, one would undoubtedly be called away, either her by one of the idiotic Charmings or him by his son or Merry Men. So realizing that he hadn't noticed her change in state, she took her chance and studied him.

He was ruggedly handsome. His skin showed the signs of a life spent outdoors in the wild. His hair was matted slightly from their excursions that day. However, the crinkle that formed beside his eyes and mouth signaled he was deep in thought and blissfully unaware of her observations. The glint in his eyes sent her stomach for a spin. He had a hard exterior, but his hands were soft. She knew this from his constant brushes she received whenever they were in the same vicinity. He always seemed to find a way to touch her. Whether by an accidental graze as he passed by, a unintentional nudge of the hips or a skim of their hands. He was always there, near enough to touch her, but never close enough to hold on.

She was about to analyze his actions further when all thoughts stopped. He had placed a hand on her leg and she could swear it sent a spark the strength of a lightening bolt through her. She jolted at the contact.

She cursed him for the shock effecting her so. She knew there was no way that he hadn't realized her awakened state by now, so she held her breath, waiting for him to comment.

"Somebodies awake." He said quietly, his eyes still focused on whatever he had been staring at before.

"Where have you brought me to thief?" She said, not intentionally adding the venom that seeped out into her words.

He inhaled deeply through his nose, the movement rattling her bed sightly and she realized just how close they were.

"A simple thank you would suffice."

"Thank you for what? From this angle it looks like you've taken me here against my will, therefore kidnapping me, for who knows what reason-"

"For saving your life!"

Regina was shocked at the mans sharp tone, effectively silencing her. In all of their encounters he had always been chivalrous,  _annoyingly_  so. He never let her get the best of him. She had constantly dangled the bait in front of him, waiting for him to rise, and he had constantly ignored it. She had got him once and only once, when she had made a remark about a thief's honor towards women, he had flinched. She had secretly prided herself over that fact, keeping the knowledge of how to get under his skin like a precious secret. But now, now was different. He had actually snapped, raising his voice and staring directly at her. There was a fire blazing behind his normally cool blue eyes and she could feel the heat of his glare. She did all she could do. She gulped.

"Saving my life?"

"Yes. After you fell from the sky. After you went out cold. Who do you think it was that grabbed you, picked you up and carried you here? Who do you think it was that has watched over you for the past few days, monitoring your state. Feeding you and keeping you alive? Who do you think Your Majesty?"

"Few days?" Regina commented more than questioned, stunned.

The thief sighed. Somewhere in the midst of his tirade he had began pacing. He ran a hand over his face, taking a deep breath to calm himself.

"I'm sorry Milady, I didn't mean to tell you like that." He sighed, his hand lowering to reveal his eyelids scrunched tightly, as if he were trying with all of his might not to burst, "It's just that sometimes you are so reckless and you go off and get hurt like you don't care, and you get me so worried. And then you go off like that, and you make it so hard not to, to.. I just... I-" he trailed off.

Regina had never felt more awkward in her life. She knew how to handle men that were mad. Or men that were only out to use her to serve their interests. But she wasn't sure how to deal with one's expressing their feelings. Especially not one's that involved caring, and about her. She couldn't read the thief, but then again, she never really could.

He sighed again, which was seeming to become a habit with him, before sitting back down on the stool next to the bed.

"I'll just-" He began, raising his hands as if to touch her again.

Regina shot up, trying to avoid his impending touch that had gotten them into this whole situation in the first place. But as soon as she shifted on the small bed she felt the familiar shot of pain course through her. It was duller now, hitting her like a mallet instead of the sharp sting of a knife, but nevertheless there. She bit her tongue, trying to hold back her cry of pain, but it escaped in a whimper.

"Don't move your Majesty." The thief said, placing his hands exactly where she didn't want them. She twitched again, trying to get free of his clutches and sit up.

He put his hands firmly on her, holding her to the bed. "Milady, you will only injure yourself more."

She squirmed again in an attempt to buck his embrace.

"Regina sit still!"

Again he snapped at her. Her eyes widened at his use of her first name. She could feel his strong hands, now fully around her, gripping her hips. All attempts to move were gone. She stared at him, her jaw dropped, ears reddening.

There was no shy sigh from him now. He had a furry behind his eyes and she didn't know why. She stilled, doing as she was told.

He continued to stare at her, his eyes baring into hers, searching for something. Something she wasn't sure of.

She didn't realize how long she had been holding her breath until the need for air became to much and she broke the intense stare with her exhale. The thief blinked, he to unsure of how long he had been staring at her.

Both looked away for a beat, until Regina spoke.

"You know my name." She whispered, more as a statement than a question.

"Everyone knows your name, your Majesty. You are the Queen." He said shaking his head slightly as if he was trying to remind himself of that fact as he said it.

"Yes, but-" she stopped, unsure of how to continue.

"What?"

She sighed. It was just like him to question her when she didn't want it. She rolled her eyes slightly, trying and failing to erase the vulnerability from her voice.

"But you've never used it before."

He paused his ministrations, he had been playing almost nervously with his torn sleeves, to look at her, "And what, did you think I did not know it?"

She only nodded.

He huffed, almost laughing, "And here I thought it was you who did not know mine."

"What?" She said in disbelief.

Now he was laughing, the deep rumble of his chuckle shaking the bed again, causing the heavy sheets to scratch up against her thigh.

"Ah!" She exclaimed as another pain went through her.

He immediately stopped laughing, returning his hands to her, adding pressure to her leg.

"I am sorry Milady, did I hurt you?" He said, staring back at her, waiting for a response.

She would have unleashed an array of insults at him had she not felt bad for the man, and simply nodded.

"It's fine."

He seemed to take that and returned his focus to whatever it was that had him so concentrated. She followed his line of sight, shifting ever so slowly as to not trigger the pain.

"This will only take a minute," he said, before returning his hands.

"What will-" but her voice died in her throat.

There, where the blankets had been shifted, bunching up on the lower side of the bed, she could just make out what had him looking so aghast. She could see the left side of her body, her dress completely shredded in certain areas and nonexistent in others. Pieces of her bodice were missing and it looked like what little remained of her corset had been unlaced, freeing her aching ribs so that she could breathe. However, despite the poor state of her clothes, she was still completely covered, her modesty still intact. She scanned further down her torso and froze. There were splotches of red. Growing larger and larger as she looked down, until she reached her leg, and all breath left her.

There, where her olive skin used to be were hundreds of small holes. Her leg looked as if it had been mutilated by an onslaught of arrows. She was marred completely. There were hundreds of red soaked towels, and she wondered how the thief had managed to find so many until she realized that most weren't even towels at all. They looked like tiny scraps of fabric and she realized why the man had looked so different. He had torn his own clothing to help cleanse her wounds. Shreds and shreds of fabric, soaked red and it looked like there was still blood oozing slowly out of her leg as they spoke.

She gasped, afraid.

The man however did not seem to be so. He leaned over her, positioning his hands right and held up another long shred of fabric. Gently maneuvering her wounded leg, he wound the fabric underneath and over, effectively binding the wounds. When he was done, he pulled the fabric, sending a short shock up her side, but he quickly soothed her as his hands splayed over her thigh, careful not to touch the injured flesh.

"There." He said, staring at the leg.

She released a breath. Her brain could barely function. A river of blood swam through her mind every time she closed her eyes.

She suddenly understood why the thief had been so easily upset. He was angry with her. Angry that she had gone off in search of the flying monkeys. Angry that she had batted him away when he offered to help her. Angry that she had gotten hurt.

Regina caught the thief's gaze still burning holes into her marred flesh. She could swear she saw something else swimming in his eyes as well.  _Regret? At himself for not being able to do any better?_

Suddenly his swift movement broke her thoughts as he muttered something about food, and began to stand up. He reached over her, one more time, grabbing the heap of blood soaked fabric to dispose of them. As he leaned however, the front of his shirt shredded hung open, exposing his chest. Regina gasped again.

There under the weathered material she could make out the markings of a scar that ran from the underside of his ear to his collar and all the way across his chest until she couldn't make out any more. It was as bright red as all of her injuries. He had been hurt as well.

He turned quickly, throwing the soiled fabrics into the fire that was raging behind them.

She heard the noises of pots and pans clinking against each other. The smell of warm food hit her senses and she felt her mouth begin to water and her stomach growl.

She hadn't realized until then how hungry she was.

When the thief returned he carried two small bowls, each full of what looked like the most delicious soup Regina had ever seen. He set one down, returning to his sitting position beside the bed and proceeded to dip a large wooden spoon into the other in his hands. He scooted closer and it was only then when she grasped what he was doing.

"Are you going to feed  _me_?"

The man didn't stop, he blew on the contents, trying to cool down the liquid so it wouldn't burn her. "Only if you'll let me."

Regina blinked. She couldn't believe her ears. When the man in front of her finally looked up she locked onto his gaze. His eyes were earnest, she found no trickery about them. He was honestly trying to feed her, to help her, to nurse her back to health. She felt her mouth run dry, and not due to her hunger.

She nodded.

He leaned forward, carefully feeding her the broth from the spoon. Little by little he did, as to not spill, blowing on each spoonful before offering it to her. When she had emptied the bowl, he began to grab at the second, offering it to her.

She shook her head, "Are you not going to eat?"

He smiled, only slightly as if it were foreign to his lips, "I already have, and I assumed you'd be more hungry."

When he proceed to offer her more, she shook her head signaling that she was done.

He understood her gesture and began to clean up. "Alright, well you must sleep your Majesty." He began to say, "Your body needs the rest. Try not to lean onto your left side."

He proceeded to stand, placing the still full bowl on the table behind her when she reached out to stop him.

"Robin, wait."

It was the sound of his name on her lips that turned him. His eyes connected with hers.

"Your Majesty?" he said breathlessly.

For a moment Regina did not know what to do. The man was paused in his half crouched half standing position just near enough for her to touch him. She felt her fingers tingle as she realized his closeness.

"I-I" she began, but she knew no what to say. It was then that she saw the red mark on his chest again. Without saying a word she reached up. He jolted the moment her hands came in contact with his warm skin. She assumed it to be due to the coldness of her palms but when she began to trace the mark that was highlighted on his skin he closed his eyes, ever so softly leaning into her touch.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

She could barely make out his, "Don't be." As she felt the rise of the gash across him deepen as she followed it down.

When she reached the spot where she could see it no more, under his shredded shirt, she brought her hands back up, wrapping one around his neck to pull him closer. He opened his eyes to find hers locked onto the point where the fresh scar disappeared into his hairline, circling just behind his ear. Her touch was feather soft, and he felt his eyelids flutter as she traced the end, grazing his earlobe as she did.

If he hadn't have been paying perfect attention to her every move he wouldn't have heard the hushed  _'thank you'_  that fell from her lips.

He opened his eyes, to find hers staring back into them. He could see a myriad of emotions circling through her wide chocolate eyes. At the for front he could make out pain and sadness. But underneath there was a layer of gratitude and thankfulness. For him.

Her small fingers moved, gently running through the hair at the base of his neck, causing goosebumps to prickle down his skin.

Staring at her, he felt like she was trying to ask his something through her eyes. something. She was almost pleading, as if she were fighting with herself about whatever it was. Her dark eyes darted back and forth between his, until they suddenly dropped lower to his lips.

Robin took in a shallow breath _. She wanted to kiss him._

He felt like the world stopped spinning and all of the planets and stars had aligned just perfectly, causing this to be the stillest moment on the planet.

All he could see was her. All he could feel was the constant movement of her soft fingers on his neck, sending small shocks down his spine.

He leaned forward slowly, as to not scare her. She didn't flinch. Their lips were only a breath away when suddenly, she shifted.

The way in which she moved made him back up quickly, replaying everything that had just transpired back in his mind. He wondered where he had missed a piece.

She quietly whispered a ' _good night,_ ' before grabbing the discarded covers and draping them carefully over her.

He stood, confused.

She had turned, ever so slightly so that he couldn't see her face.

With a sigh he reached over, grabbing the left behind bowl to finally dispose of it. When he stood fully, he blew out the candle that sat next to her bed whispering.

"Goodnight...  _Regina_."

xxx

The small room was cold as she shivered under the mass pile of blankets.

It had been hours since the thief had left, going to bed in what must be another room in the cabin. She stared out the window as the light of the morning sun began to hit the fields.

She had been about to kiss him and she was sure he was about to kiss her too.

She would have too, expressing her thanks in the best way that she knew how, if only she hadn't have seen it.

_It_. She couldn't believe it was there.

The symbol. The stupid one of the lion raised on it's hind legs. The tattoo that she had been destined a long time ago to find. The tattoo that was marked on the wrist of the man that was her true love.

She closed her eyes as a single tear fell. It couldn't be.

Not after she had spent so long searching for the man that she had ran away from that night, long ago at the tavern.

The one she had walked away from once, kissing off any hope of her happy ending.

There was no way she had found him again. There was no way he was here, in her life, sleeping in a room just down the hall from her.

There was no way that it was this nice, good man. Who had tended to her wounds. Who had rescued her when she had fallen unconscious. Who had fed her. Who had nursed her back to health. A man who annoyed her at most times but shocked her with his unwavering kindness and caring.

It couldn't be.

But she knew it was. For when he had moved, leaning in over her she had seen it bright as day. On his wrist, where the fabric of his shirt had been removed from the constant bandaging of her leg, was the marking of the lion tattoo.

He was her true love, he was her soul mate.

And she had almost kissed him.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Maybe you wouldn't mind doing a part two? Like Robin bringing Regina back to the castle and Snow finds out about what happened, so she goes off on Regina about being careless, and not worrying about her safety. Also, Robin trying to figure out why Regina acted the way she did when he tried to kiss her. You can decide whether or not she tells him about the tattoo. Again thank you for the awesome story!

Something was off and she knew it.

Snow watched as her former step mother made her way into the castle, shadowed by none other than the thief himself. A small smile graced her lips as she saw that he was indeed still in one piece. Bets had started to be placed when the duo had gone missing a week ago, a week longer than anyone had expected them to be gone.

When they hadn't returned the night of their departure to look for the Wicked Witches simian army, Snow had been over come with fear.  _What if something had happened while they were out? What if they had indeed found the flying monkeys that had wrecked so much havoc on the castle? What if they were hurt? What if they had fought, and lost?_

Her husband had tried to comfort her. Reminding her of how strong Regina was.

She knew. She knew first hand how much that woman had put up with in her life and how much she could handle. But she couldn't help how grateful she felt that she had sent the woodsman along with her.

He was Robin Hood, the King of the Thieves. He was the most skilled archer that she had ever come across in all of her time in the woods. He had once given her a run for her money, when they had encountered each other across traders paths. He was a talented hunter and a loyal friend. She knew if anyone, he would be the person that could protect the Queen.

And it appeared that he had done just so.

The pair made their way into the castle. The Queen walked regally but her movements weren't as elegant as they usually were. She seemed almost stiff, as if she were in incredible pain but doing her best not to show it.

Snow's brow furrowed deeper as she noticed the hand that the archer had placed on the Queen's back when she misjudged the distance between a stair to the floor, balancing her when her hand shot to her leg before she batted him away.

They both seemed agitated. Yet mildly familiar with each other. Snow couldn't tell if they had grown closer in the week that they had been missing outside of the castle walls, or if the Queens impenetrable walls had reinforced against the archer ten fold.

"You will remove your hands from me if you value your life thief." Came Regina's venomous voice.

_Well. That answered that._

Snow sighed.

Secretly she had been hoping that their time together had done them good. Once her scouts had reported they had been spotted making their way back to the castle from the Farthing Woods she had quickly gotten over her worry sickness and immediately began to ponder what they could have gotten up to to take them out for a week.

Her thoughts had gone from simple and pure to dirty and raunchy really quick.

Because of her fair skin, when she blushed at all, her whole face lit up. And right then it had been as red as a burning hot poker.

She couldn't help it. She wanted happiness for Regina. Regardless of the past between them, Regina had been her friend and she loved her. She had been there when she needed a mother and for a time she had shown her the truest form of love that one could have for a stranger. She had bathed her, nursed her, sang to her as she braided her hair. It had been everything she had wished for. But it was all over to soon.

But Snow had forgiven her. She could see through Regina's ways. She could see the justifications she had behind them. Though she would never condone her actions, she could understand why the woman had felt right to make them.

Regina had been the first person to tell her about true love. The day when they had first met, when Regina had rescued her from falling when her horse went careening out of control, she had shown her how someone could extend love to a stranger through good deeds. And then, when her younger self had caught the older brunette in the arms of another man after she had been engaged to her father, she had taught her the meaning of true love. That it was magic.

Snow had held on to those words throughout her youth.

When she had met Charming and saved him from the bridge trolls, she knew she had found what Regina had been talking about. She could feel the spark between them. There was a magic there, it was true love.

And she wished so badly for that to find her ex-stepmother.

So when they had been introduced to Robin Hood, as he had saved them from an attack by monkeys and she had seen how he had looked at Regina, she knew.

There had been a spark. She could almost feel it as their eyes had connected. She knew when she had asked the Queen later, her thoughts about the man, that she had answered about his smell to avoid saying how she truly felt. Snow wasn't even sure Regina knew what she really felt.

It had been so long for Regina. So long since she had opened up. Since she had loved and been loved in return.

But Snow, ever optimistic, knew that it was only a matter of time before Regina's heart would find its way to happiness.

It may be with the archer or it might not, but Snow knew that he was the key for her gaining her happiness back. He gave her hope.

And, she secretly wished that Robin was her true love. She could just see the blue eyes and tan skin that would come of their children. They would be gorgeous.

She nearly giggled, turning as red as a beat when she saw the pair approaching.

"Regina!"

"Snow," came the automatic response from the woman. Snow rushed to hug her, but stopped short. The woman had winced, ever so subtly, masking the movement immediately but Snow had seen it.

"Regina?" She questioned, "Are you alright?"

It was only then when she realized that the woman before her was not in the same attire that she had left the castle in a week prior.

Gone was her elegant dress. She was clad in a overly large shirt, the buttons hanging open slightly revealing her corset beneath. She wore a pair of green loose fitting pants and boots. Over the top of it all was a light forest green jacket which she assumed to be Robins. Actually the entire ensemble looked as if it had come directly out of the mans personal closets.

When the woman didn't respond, she shot her eyes back to the archer behind her. His attire was different to. The clothing in which he had left on was barely hanging on to him. At best it was shredded in certain areas, revealing a large scar that ran from his ear slicing across his torso. His face held no answers for her. The blur of emotions he was withholding clouded his eye's, only adding to her suspicions, not easing her fears.

Her eyes shifted back to the woman before her who was now staring directly at her. Her penetrating gaze made Snow gasp. It was as if the woman was staring at her in the hopes to convey a message. Her deep brown eyes were wide, begging. Begging for Snow not to ask anything further. To instead, take her in and leave her questions for later.

She nodded slightly, understanding and did just that.

"Well why don't you come in. I assume you both could use some rest and a warm meal."

Snow felt her stomach twist at the look of utter thankfulness that spread across her ex-stepmothers face.

She might not know what transpired between the Queen and the archer to make them act like so, but she was definitely going to find out.

xxx

Regina awoke to excruciating stinging.

It felt like her leg was splitting open from the inside.

Immediately her hands shot down to her thigh and she nearly shot them back just as fast as her skin felt like it was on fire to her touch. It felt like molten lava had taken over her blood stream and was spurting out of her like a volcano.

She tried to move, to adjust her body so that she could see her leg, but she couldn't. Every movement, every breath sent another severe gush through her system.

She released a high-pitched scream, her face twisting in agony. It was deafening.

She felt like she was burning from the inside.

She ripped the blankets covering her, twisting her leg as she did resulting in another strangled cry. She couldn't breathe.

She was still scorching. Her body overheating turning her red-hot, she was surprised the bed she lay on hadn't shot up in flames.

Her eyes began to burn, tears streaming down her face. She felt them only for a moment before she would swear they evaporated.

She needed it to be over. She needed it to end, but there was nothing. Nothing she could do.

Another cry ripped through her before she felt hands covering her, picking her up.

She bit back a cry as the searing pain tore through her again. This time shooting from her leg up to her chest.

She was moving, being carried. And fast. She tried to open her eyes to see whose arms were around her, but she couldn't. They were sealed shut, burned into place. She couldn't breathe. All she could do was hold on as if her life depended on it.

It wasn't until she felt the water rushing over her, her leg completely submerged and her corset now completely undone before she could focus. She opened her eyes.

The first all she saw was white, and then the colors started to fade in.

She was outside. She could feel the grass under her fingertips and the breeze in her hair. She finally felt a bit of comfort, but that didn't last long. Suddenly another pulse shot through her, this time harder and more pungent.

It felt like a whole swarm of bees had surrounded her, all stinging her at once. There were hundred of holes now forming on her leg. Ripping open as the water rushed over her. She let out a blood curdling scream before she felt herself being hoisted up again.

Then everything went black around her.

xxx

It wasn't a bed she was in when she awoke this time. No this time she was sitting upright, her injured leg propped up by pillows, resting on a stump.

She blinked trying to clear the sleep from her eyes.

It was midday judging by the position of the hazy sun over the fields.

She took a moment to take in her surroundings. She was sitting in an overly large wooden chair that looked like it had also been specially cushioned by pillows. It seemed like whatever it had been that had attacked her leg was gone now. She glanced down to try and get a look at her injured thigh, but saw nothing but white.

Her leg had been wrapped again, this time with thicker straps of fabric.

The thief must have switched to ripping up a heavier material in order to stop her blood flow from soaking through so quickly.

She shifted carefully to get more comfortable. But when she felt no bolt pain from her leg paused, and then moved again.

Nothing.

She felt a smile grace her face until she realized that not only could she not feel any pain... she couldn't feel anything below her waist.

Quickly she shot her hands down. She picked at the wrappings, pinching her leg as she did so.

Nothing!

The wrappings weren't budging. She let out a grunt of frustration and yanked at the offending fabric.

"Hey! What are you doing?!"

Her eyes snapped up to the unannounced presence in the room. The thief had entered from the door on the left. Seeing him, she did a once over, noting that he held a bundle of logs in arms as if to start a fire. But when he saw her, hell bent of removing the fabric casing around her leg, he nearly dropped them all.

"Stop, stop, stop!" He said, setting the logs down hastily by the hearth.

He had rushed over to her, removing her hands from her bandages with one swift movement.

"Let go of me thief!" She spat.

"Your Majesty, you need to keep you bandages on," He began, but she wasn't listening. She couldn't feel her leg and she needed to see why. She struggled against him, only resulting in his grip tightening around her wrists, pinning her back to the chair. "Regina!"

She stopped. Again with her name.

She stared up at the man that was holding her, currently cutting off her ability to move. Every time he uttered her name she seemed to freeze. It was like he had some spell over her an his voice was the key.

Regina looked into his eyes. They were close again, much like a night prior when he had fed her and then hovered over her and she had almost kissed him. For a moment she wondered why she hadn't. He had been so close and she could plainly see that he had wanted it to. But as he moved, readjusting the pillows that she had displaced in her fuss she remembered why.

His arm. The tattoo of the lion.  _Soul mates._

She sucked in a breath as he balanced her leg again upon the feathered padding.

He looked up confused, "Did you feel that Milady?"

"Wha- no." She responded as she flicked her eyes away from him intense gaze. "No, I can't actually feel anything."

He only nodded as if that was the answer he had been expecting.

Regina frowned, "Did you already know that?"

He nodded again.

"How?" She questioned.

The thief sucked in a deep breath, fluffing the end of on more pillow before he spoke, "Well, since I was the one to numb it, I would hope that I would know."

Her mouth formed a small 'o' as more confusion flooded her.

"Numb it? Why?"

"It was the only way to-" his voice trailed off as if what he was about to say caused him some sort of physical pain. His hand had unconsciously started drawing circles on her leg. She only knew, since she couldn't feel his movement, because she had been staring nonstop at his strong hands. They had been flexing, clenching and unclenching while he spoke to her.

He was nervous.

She could see the signs of his anxiety etched in his face. That did nothing to calm her already rattled nerves.

"Thief?"

His eyes shot up, "Why do you insist on calling me that?"

She was stunned. "I always call you that?"

"No," he said, shaking his head almost vehemently, "No, you haven't. Not last night you didn't."

She blinked, shocked by the actual hurt that she saw in his eyes as he spoke. Maybe she had misjudged the pain that she had thought his words were causing him. Maybe it wasn't the words he would say that scared him, but the ones she would.

She took in a deep breath, trying to regulate her breathing as it had sped up again.

"Well what would you like me to call you?" She muttered.

For the rather large man that he was he seemed almost like a small, hurt child at that moment. When he responded all she saw was the vulnerability in his eyes.

"By my name," He said.

When he didn't say anything further but rather continued to stare at her, she began to feel uncomfortable and flicked her eyes away yet again from his gaze.

"Robin then," she said. For a moment she would have sworn that a small smile ghosted his face when she let his name roll off her tongue. It felt nice. The name fit him and she found that she liked saying it more than his given nickname of 'thief.'

"Well, Robin, do you care to tell me exactly why you saw fit to numb my leg and then bind it until I couldn't feel it anymore?"

"To stop the screaming." He answered instantly.

She paused, her blood running cold.  _Screaming? What screaming_?

And then it hit her. Waves and waves of emotions mixed with memories, coming at her like a tsunami.

There had been blood, so much blood. It hardly seemed like it was going to stop. She had cried, burning tears, screaming out into the dark as if her shouts of agony would somehow help ease her pain.

_Pain_. She had been in so much pain.

She remembered passing out countless times, but every time there was pair of arms. Catching her, protecting her, holding her up, because she couldn't do so herself.

He had been there. Watching over her. And apparently bathing her, she noticed as she surveyed her ensemble.

There were no more dried blood stains on her dress. As a matter of fact there was no longer

a dress to be found. Just a loose shirt and a pair of over size pants that were rolled up as to not add any extra pressure to her wounds.

He had changed her. Suddenly she felt utterly exposed in front of him, as if she were sitting there in nothing more than the skin she was born in.

She wasn't embarrassed about her body. Quite the opposite actually, but there was something about this. Something about the fact that he had seen her when she was helpless. He had seen her and bathed her, and cared for her. It was intimate. That in itself sent a shock through her system, following the path that her spine laid out.

She didn't know whether it was a rush of gratefulness that she felt towards the man or attraction. Regardless, he had begun his nervous fidgeting again, twirling his fingers in lazy swirls on her knee.

"Thank you."

His head snapped up, "What?"

"You heard me."

A slight smile grew on his face, perking up the corners of his lips.

Regina thought he looked rather attractive in the midday light. The way his face was lit, drawing attention to his strong jawline. His eyes were once again staring at her and she couldn't help but wonder what thoughts were running through his mind.

"So, where are we anyway?" She asked when the silence had gone on to long. He turned gesturing his hand out to the room, bringing it back around to them.

"Welcome Milady, to the Merry Men's camp." He said with a mock bow.

"What? No way, were not-?"

"Mmm, I do believe we are." He nodded.

"You brought me here?"

"Well it was close, and it's the only place I know that came prestocked with blankets and the necessary supplies."

She released a huff of disbelief. She couldn't believe that he had brought her, the  _Evil Queen_  of all people, into the heart of his camp.

Everyone knew that the whereabouts of the Merry Men's camp were a secret. Whispers about it's location had circled round the castle back when word that the King of Thieves himself had made his was to the Enchanted Forest.

Regina however had been much more interested in perusing Snow White to exact her revenge and therefore hadn't given much care to the location of the secret hideout.

But now, being inside of it, she took a moment to admire the place.

It was a what she would call a overtly homey cabin for a nomadic woodsman. It was small but roomy. There were a plethora of art pieces decorating the walls. From tapestries to crests. There were tarps and scarves scattered about, creating an almost gypsy like atmosphere.

On the wall there was a large window that looked as if the glass had been doubly reinforced as to withhold from any attack from the outside, natural or not. And in the corner was a reading nook. There were covers dispersed all over the floor. Some hefty, long reads and an abundance of smaller more colorful titles. She noticed that amongst the chaos of pages there were small toys thrown here and there as if they area had been inhabited by a young child.

It was only then when she remembered that the thief did in fact have a son.

"Is this  _your_  home?" She asked.

"Quite observant aren't we? Why, what gave it away. Was it the bows?" He said gesturing to the walls. There was a multitude of bows hanging from different points in the cabin. Each decorated and intricately designed. All were in different sizes as well. Some long, some short, some wide and some thin. She was impressed with the sheer number of arrows he had, that all seemed to be in their correct spot, each facing the same way. She hadn't even noticed them until he mentioned it.

"No," she said at last.

"Oh? Then pray tell, what was it?" He asked.

"The smell."

Robin looked confused. His brow made a downward curved line as he looked back at her as if to ask her to clarify what she was talking about.

Regina cleared her throat, "It smells like the forest in here. And well-" she began.

"Well what?"

She sighed, "You smell like a forest."

"Do I?"

"Yes."

The grin that had been merely a whisper on his face grew. He ducked his head and Regina noticed, not for the first time, how he bit his lower lip lightly trying to hold back his smile.

"Hungry Milady?"

"Huh?" Regina said, shaken out of her daze.

He gestured to the fireplace, where the begins of a meal sat, waiting to be prepared.

"Oh, yes." She said, just as her stomach let out a low growl, "I think my body would be appreciative of something warm to eat other than soup."

Robin smiled.

"As you wish."

xxx

Snow walked posthaste down the long hallway.

She had been patiently waiting for the right time to approach, giving Regina time to get back, eat, shower and change her clothes. She had waited and waited. She had even tried to sit down and have a quite meal with her husband, but the anticipation was killing her.

She had to know what happened.

She turned the corner that lead to the corridor of Regina's rooms.

There was almost an odd feeling in her stomach as the wave of nostalgia rushed over her. She had walked those halls so many times as a young girl, and then snuck through them many times in her youth, avoiding the black knights of Regina's guard. Unbeknownst to the Queen, Snow had seen her stepmother many times over the years that she had been hunting her.

Every full moon she would slip into the castle, undetected by way of back doors and the chambermaids halls.

She would climb up the jagged outer walls and hide in the rafters and watch. Every time her heart sank. There would be Regina, normally pacing or sat talking to her grand mirror. She turned darker and darker with every visit. Snow had watched, month by month, as the woman who she had once called mother turned further and further away from the light, until one day she could see it no more.

She remembered that day clearly. She had seen it. The light that had been in the woman's eyes, the light that had given her some sliver of hope that maybe, just maybe she could return to the woman she once was, was gone. Replaced by a dark hole, deep and endless like the center of a vortex.

Snow had cried herself to sleep that night, and every night for the remainder of her time in the forest.

Turning the corner she pushed back those old emotions.

Things were different now.

Regina  _had_  changed. She  _had_  regained that sliver of hope. And it had all come because of her, having Emma who birthed Henry.

A smile graced Snows lips. She found herself more confident as she knocked on the door. She only hoped that whatever she was going to uncover about the week Regina had spent with the archer hadn't sent her spiraling back.

xxx

Robin paced in the corner of his room.

He was confused.

This last week for him had been the most tiring and strenuous week that he had ever spent in the Enchanted Forest,  _ever_. But it had also been the best.

He had gotten to know her Majesty, and really know her. He had learned her habits and her routines. He had learned how she liked her toast and the odd way in which she buttered bread. He had learned just how much pain she could handle and how much she hid it when she was hurt.

He had learned what made her tick and what made her laugh. He had especially loved hearing her laugh. And being the person to put that beautiful wide smile upon her face when she did so filled him up on the inside.

He had met her that week, Regina, not the Queen she masqueraded as.

That was all it was. A mask. For she was so much more.

She was complex and intricate.

Whenever he uncovered another one of her many facets another layer shimmered to the surface.

They had both shared their stories. Him trying to share only the smallest bits and pieces in order to turn the conversation back to her. He wanted to know her, fully.

There was time for him to share his past later, if she wished it.

But since they had been stuck to his cabin, with no where else to go as her leg healed, he hadn't wanted to waste a second talking about himself. So he let her share, and share she had.

He had actually been surprised at how open she was with him.

Not at first. At first she had been as cold as a rock. Her face like stone whenever he passed her by. But on the fourth night of their confinement, she had come around.

It was like something in her had switched and her whole demeanor had changed.

It had been when he was over the fire, stoking it to keep the embers from dying out.

She had been asleep for most of the day, the fever that she had experienced over the night, finally cooling. She was constantly back and forth from hot to cold. He had given up on removing her blankets only to be told to put them back as she shivered again.

So he had opted to make a fire and keep a set of cool wash cloths by her bed side.

She had been sitting up when he turned around, staring out of the window to her right, lost in thought.

The starlight danced on her face, highlighting the sheen of sweat that was above her brow.

As he walked over to her to bring another wash cloth to her face, she turned back to face him, stopping him.

Without a word she had pulled him down to sit on the edge of her makeshift bed. She then unhanded him, twiddling with her thumbs for a minute before speaking.

He hadn't been sure what it was exactly that she had wanted to talk to him about, but he sure as hell wasn't going to miss it. So he had sat quietly, waiting for her to continue. And when she did he had been nothing less than shocked.

She began to tell him about her days as a young girl, running through the woods. Of how she had known every part of the forest around her house like it was the back of her hand.

She retold tales of riding her horse, Riocinante, through the fields. Of how being on the animal made her feel free, like nothing in the world could hold her back. He had made a mental note to take her riding when they returned.

Then she had gone on, speaking about the days in which her mother had sought to teach her magic and how she had denied it. She hadn't wanted anything to do with the art. But somewhere in there Robin knew something had switched, for she wasn't know as the most powerful sorceress of their time for nothing. But then she talked about happier subjects. Of the winters in the forest and building snowmen in the market square. She only mentioned her friend, the stable boy, and his sad passing briefly. But Robin took to be more than just a friend from the tone that her voice struck when she talked about him.

He had let her speak and he had enjoyed every minute of it. Making a comment here or there and interjecting to tell a tale of his own when she asked.

They had traded back and forth for hours, talking and laughing into the wee hours of the night, until the light had strewn in through the scarves hanging over the window casting jewel colored tones onto their faces. When he awoke he realized that they must have fallen asleep talking as he was stretched out on her bed and she was next to him, snoring lightly, deep asleep.

He had watched her, analyzing her face, from her long eyelashes to the faint scar just above her lip.

She was as beautiful, if not more so in her slumber.

The lines of worry and pain that tainted her face disappeared, enhancing only her fair skin and beauty.

He had never felt himself more attracted to her then in that moment. He actually had to remind himself that she was sick and in pain therefore needed her sleep, because he wanted nothing more than to wake her and talk to her again. Maybe to find out if she too shared the feelings that he held for her.

But he knew there was no way that she could.

She was a Queen and he was a thief. An outlaw. He was nowhere near worthy of her. The mere gift of being in her presence was more than he could have hoped to ask for.

But there was something about her.

Something that made him want to buck all of society and their ideals. Something that made him want to fight for her. To keep her alive. To save her. To make her his.

And he had decided to try to show her how much he cared that weekend. So that was why he was confused as he paced in his room in the south wing of the castle.

No where in their time together did she give him a sign that she was opposed to any of his advancements. Besides the first night, when he had been sure that she was going to kiss him before she pulled away.

She had actually been encouraging him, he thought in retrospect as he reviewed their time together in his head.

But as they had neared the castle on the seventh day, all that had changed. The familiarity, the friendship that had blossomed between them was gone. Crumbled away like the walls around her heart that he had worked so hard to tear down.

xxx

"So." Snow began.

Regina internally sighed. She had known the woman wouldn't be able to stay away for long. As a child she had had a curiosity bigger than her, that had gotten her in to trouble countless times. There was no way she could have assumed that it would diminish with her age.

She released a breath through her nose, "Just ask Snow."

"What happened between you and Robin Hood?"

Regina opened her eyes, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh come on Regina, we both know something had to have happened." Snow almost begged as she scooted closer to her former stepmother, "Why else would you both have been gone for a week when we both know you could have found the witches monkeys in under a couple of hours."

The brunette moved, suddenly uncomfortable with her previous stepdaughters acute skills of observation. As she did so however, she struck a certain tender part of her thigh against the side table next to her and released a sharp yelp of pain.

"Did he hurt you?!" Snow said, as her eyes grew dramatically wide in horror.

"No," Regina responded, rubbing her leg where she had struck it, careful not to remove any of the bandages. "Quite the opposite actually."

"Oh?"

Regina exhaled. She knew that the woman wouldn't give up in her pursuit until she knew exactly what had happened over the week that she and Robin had been missing. She decided to take the quick, less painful path and just tell her.

"He saved me."

"Oh?!" Snow chimed, "Saved you? From what? What was it that caused you to need saving exactly? Did the monkeys attack you? Oh! Did the Wicked Witch find you?! Regina!"

"Stop Snow!" She snapped, ceasing the woman's incessant chatter. Regina's head was still swirling from her bodies over exertion on her way to the castle and the lack of proper healing herbs. She couldn't handle an anxious Snow White chirping away in her ear, fawning over her as if she were one of the injured birds she used to bring to the castle.

"No, the witch didn't find us," She started, "It was the damn monkeys. They attacked us just outside of Farthing Woods."

"Oh?" Snow prodded.

"Well, just one to be exact. It took a chunk out of my leg and gash across Robin's chest before he shot it." She shifted again, trying to find a more comfortable position for her aching leg. "But it was already to late. The beasts claws were poisoned."

"Oh my goodness Regina! Are you alright?" Snow cooed.

Regina tried to push down the bile that grew in her throat, threatening to come out as the woman fell all over her.

She brushed the woman's pawing hands off of her as she spoke, "I'm fine dear. Just a bit stiff."

"But, if he was the one to heal you then why are you treating him like he's the annoying pebble in your shoe again?" She asked. "Regina, what else aren't you telling me?"

The very annoyed Queen rolled her eyes. There was no escaping the younger woman's endless pestering.

"Regina?"

"Nothing!" She yelled, silencing the woman. She released a frustrated huff. "That's just it! Nothing happened, no matter how much I may have wanted it to, I-I just couldn't let myself, and he has his stupid honor complex... so there's nothing to tell because nothing happened."

Snow sat back, digesting the new information that the Queen had just shared.

So she had been right in her thought process. The Queen did harbor some type of feelings for the archer, whether they were deep or not, they were there bubbling under the surface. The man seemed to have unnerved the normally detached Queen. But Snow knew, when Regina felt something she felt it with her whole soul. And whatever it was that she felt for the man across the castle, it had caused her to come back in touch with her emotions.

Snow smiled.

"What?"

"Nothing," Snow said.

"You're smiling about what I just said. Stop it." Regina snapped.

Snows smile only grew larger as the woman grew more and more frustrated. "I'm not smiling about what you said. I'm smiling about what you didn't."

"What?" Regina questioned, the expression on her face telling Snow that she had confused her to no end. She clarified.

"Regina, no matter how much you may pretend to dislike Robin, he's gotten to you. You can't lie to me, I can see it in your eyes." She said, nudging her, "You like him, don't you?"

Regina refrained from rolling her eyes yet again, "Did I  _not_ just say that?"

"Well then what's stopping you?" Snow questioned.

"What's stopping me? I think you mean, what's isn't stopping me?!"

"Regina no one wants your happiness here more than I do." Snow interjected, "And Regina, you're the Queen. I can confidently say, there is no one stopping you from getting your happy ending but yourself."

The Queen looked confused and slightly maddened, as if Snow's words had angered her. Snow reached for the woman's hands which were clasped together over her lap.

"He's not my happy ending."  _He's my soul mate,_  she thought. She tried to remove her hands from Snows grip but the woman held strong.

"Well he sure seems to make you happy."

Regina sighed, giving up on struggling to break her hands free. She looked up when the woman pulled her closer.

"Why don't you go chase it? Let go and follow you heart for once, Regina?"

_That was just it,_  Regina thought, it was her following of her heart all her life that led her to so much pain and heart ache. She had followed her heart with Daniel when everything in her mind had screamed at her to head her mothers warning and stay away from him. Now he was dead. She had followed her heart when she adopted Henry, and now he was lost to her forever. She was driven purely by emotions. Very rarely did she listen to logic.

But it wasn't her mind that was getting in the way of her from pursuing the feelings that she held for the thief. In this situation it was her battered heart. It had been hurt one too many times, and knowing what she now did about the man, that he was her soul mate, that they were destined to be, she was afraid.

She wanted him. Badly.

And not in a physical way. She wanted to know him, all of him.

Over the week they had spent together she had gotten to see his caring side. He truly was a good man that put the needs of others before himself.

He had taken care of her when she hadn't asked and frankly didn't deserve it. He had carried her, bathed her, healed her and taught her how to walk again.

He had been with her when she awoke in her fits of rage due to the poison that was attacking her system. And when she slept, he had watched over her, changing her bandages and applying cool rags to her head to keep her fever at bay.

He had shown her more love and caring than anyone ever had in her entire life in one week and she couldn't help but feel for him.

He was beautiful. He had a kind soul. And he wasn't afraid to stand toe to toe with her when he needed to.

And the way he said her name.

It was like he had called her beautiful and lovely and worthy all in one small word.

She wanted to know every part of him and he had seemed to want the same from her. But she was afraid. Afraid that if she truly did open up and let him in, that what he would find inside of her would scare him away.

She wasn't the little naive girl that had found him because of some pixie dust, back in a tavern in her youth. No. Now she was mature. Scarred by the darkness that had taken a hold of her heart. She had let it overcome her and take complete control of her. She had done terrible things and she didn't know if their apparent bond was made to handle that.

She shook her head, feeling Snows warm hands rubbing circles over hers.

"Regina, he's stronger than you think." She spoke as if she had heard all of her thoughts. "You wont know how he feels about you unless you ask."

Regina took a steadying breath. It was as if something was coming alive inside of her as Snow spoke.

"Regina." She heard Snow say again.

She looked up at her former step daughters eyes. The green spheres danced with excitement.

"Go find him." She said.

And with that she was off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for the kudos! please do leave a comment i love hearing your thoughts!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As a warning - there is a reason this chapter took so long to post... if you were to copy and paste it into a word document you'd see that it's exactly 50 pages long! So do enjoy! And send a big thanks to Inquisitive Dreamer - my lovely friend /beta who took on editing this beast to make it understandable for all of you(; *claps!* There is plenty of OQ feels here! As well, some more surprise should be coming throughout the week! (;

 

 

To her dismay, he wasn't in his chambers when she came looking.

She turned down the hall and searched through the dining area.

Empty.

She scanned the grounds.

Clear.

She searched the library.

Nothing but books.

Her leg began to burn under the bandages around her fourth circle of the main landing and she decided to turn back, giving up for the night. That of course was when he ran straight into her.

"Your Majesty! I am so sorry, did I hurt you?" He asked.

His words were sincere, but his voice was detached.

"No, no, I'm fine." She responded. She would have been overjoyed to see him, however, the scowl he was sporting on his face made her second guess herself.

"What are you doing out here?"

The man looked like he had had a long night, a lot like her; however he looked worse for the wear. He had bathed, for she could see that the shine she had become accustomed to was back in his sandy hair. He had also swapped his shredded attire for what looked like a soft cotton shirt and pants. It was the most undone she had ever seen him. She could no longer see the outline of the scar that she knew hid under his shirt, save for the red tip that poked out on his neck and curled around his ear. At a glance, he looked perfectly fine however, she noticed the deep set lines and the dark circles under his eyes as he spoke, "I often come out here when I need to clear my head."

"Can't sleep?" She asked.

Robin shook his head. His eyes had dropped from her's. She followed his gaze, realizing that he was trying to look anywhere but at her.

She suddenly felt a hurt in her chest that she couldn't explain. In a second she went from excited to see him, to wishing that she hadn't listened to Snow and come out looking for him. She wished that they hadn't spent that week alone in his cabin. She wished that she had never opened up to him. That he had never saved her. That he hadn't cared for her. That she hadn't grown to care for him. That she had never seen that stupid tattoo.

This was what she got for following her heart.

She was so consumed with her thoughts that she almost didn't register him speaking to her again, "How is your leg faring?"

"Huh- oh, fine." Regina responded. She made a move subconsciously to show off it's new found dexterity, however; at that moment, one of her bandages slipped and a bolt of pain shot through her.

Robin's hands shot out to her, gripping at her sides to keep her from falling, "You shouldn't be on it." He grunted as he caught her.

She sensed a bit of anger in the undertones of his voice and immediately found herself on the defensive.

"I'll do whatever I please." She snapped. She was tired of his clipped tone already, but she was trying to remain calm.

"Of that, I have no doubt," he said under his breath. When he had steadied her he added, under his breath, "Your Majesty."

_That did it._

"Why are you calling me that?"

Robin looked stunned, "It's  _your_  name?"

"No, I gave you express permission to call me Regina. And you haven't stopped doing so since that night in the cabin. Not until we reached the castle." She stated factually, "Why? What is it that's changed?"

Regina had never found herself talking like this to the man, during their week together she had witnessed him going from speaking abruptly to her, to bold and even, sometimes assertively. She had responded in her normal brazen manner whenever he told her to stay off of her leg however, that was until he had commanded her to do so or else he would tie her to the bed.

She had gotten shivers. She promptly decided to avoid him for the rest of the night, ignoring his threat and walking the short distance between her bed and the fireplace, proceeding to sit there until she fell asleep.

But he had never been rude to her. He had never treated her poorly or shown her any ill will. All he had done was help her. That was what had initially annoyed her, his overbearing need to take care of her. She had let him feed her the first night and then when he went in to do so the next she had stopped him.

She could see the hurt in his eyes then, as clearly as he stood before her now.

But she couldn't let him continue. Not after what she knew about him. _About them_.

He had been there, back in the cabin, his front pressed to hers, hands around her waist. He was helping her stand however she couldn't seem to hold her legs steady with him touching her like that.

"Move your leg Your Majesty."

"I am."

"No," Robin said, "You are not."

"Yes I am!" Regina snapped.

Robin huffed and she felt his grip around her hips tighten ever so slightly, as if he wished to shake her to force some sense into her, but decided against it.

"No, Your Majesty, I am sorry to say it, but you are most definitely keeping your leg as stationary as a fallen log."

Regina was just about fed up with the mans accusations. She wriggled her arms away from him, promptly crossing them over her chest. In retrospect, she probably looked like a spoiled rotten 10 year old having a temper tantrum, but she didn't much care. She replied snidely, "Well maybe I would be able to, if it didn't hurt so much!"

"Your Majesty, it's going to hurt whether you sit or stand, and you were the one that insisted on walking  _as soon as possible._ " He said, as factually as he could manage.

Regina wanted nothing more than to singe him with one of her fireballs however, he was the one thing keeping her upright at the moment; instead of crumbling into a heap where she stood, so she decided against it. When she did not respond in a timely fashion he readjusted his grip on her and took in a deep breath before speaking again.

"Your Majesty-" he began but he was cut off.

"Stop calling me that."

"Calling you what?" Robin questioned.

"Your Majesty," Regina answered, destain seeping into her words like poison, "As if it were a derogatory term. I didn't choose to be Queen. And if I am to be calling you Robin, by your request, need I remind you, then it is only right for you to be referring to me by my name. Call me Regina."

For a moment the Queen would have sworn the mans eyes lit up, brightening by a shade or two, into what looked like the exact color of vivid blue in a cloudless sky.

"Are we understood?" Regina continued when she received no reply.

"Perfectly, Your Maj-" the thief stopped at the highly arched eyebrow from the woman he was still holding in his arms, "Regina."

Regina felt like a bolt of lightening shot straight threw her and this time it didn't have anything to do with the injury to her leg. The way her name fell from his lips was like magic. It made every hair on her body shoot up and stand to attention. She felt goosebumps pebble her skin. His lips curved in a way the entranced her as he spoke it and she found that she couldn't tear her eyes away from his mouth.

" _Regina_." She heard him say. There was definitely some power in his voice because it lured her in like honey would a bear. She couldn't get enough of it.

"Regina," She heard again, "Regina?"

The seductive quality had changed. Only then did she realize that he was actually speaking to her  _now_.

"Yes?" She responded.

"Are you alright? You seemed to have zoned out for a moment there."

"I'm fine I assure you." She said, and then quickly added, "Let's try again."

"What?" Robin asked, appearing stunned at her sudden abruptness. Regina explained non-verbally by nodding her head down, signaling at her legs and then flicking her eyes between them. Robins mouth formed an 'o' as understanding hit him. "Right, would you like to try and move your leg again?"

Regina wanted to shake her head 'no', however he was right, she was the one that insisted on getting up and fully functionally as quickly as possible. So she suppressed the urge and nodded, biting her lower lip as she focused all of her concentration on her legs.

She took one tentative step and nearly let out a scream as the pain rippled through her in waves. It was excruciating. Her leg felt like it was being ripped apart, shredded into strings, like cheese and then put through a blender -  _or whatever the Enchanted Forest version of a blender was._  Regardless, it was painful, highly uncomfortable to say the least.

Her eyes screwed shut, she stopped moving, her hands gripping tightly around his biceps.

"I-I can't." she all but whispered.

Robin nodded, seeing her pain.

"Why don't we call it a day." He said, leading her to the bed, carefully, as not to hurt her injured leg any further. "You rest here and I'll make dinner."

Regina nodded, as it was the only thing she was currently capable of doing. Her eyes were still shut but she felt the loss immediately as the mans strong arms left her once she was sat down and situated on the mattress.

In what felt like only minutes later he had returned. Something appetizing and well cooked in his hands.

Regina opened one eye, seeing him cutting the well done meat on the plate into small, bite sized chunks, proceeding to stab one piece with the fork in his hands.

When he went to lift it up, however she realized what he was doing.

She stopped him before he could reach her mouth. He had had the biggest look of confusion on his face.

"It's deer?" He said, questioningly.

She shook her head.

"Look I know it may not be what you are accustomed to-" Robin began, but she proceeded to grab the fork from his hand, taking the full bite into her mouth, effectively shutting him up.

Robin stared at her for a moment, like he was in shock, that a Queen would ever dare to eat like that, much less been seen doing so. When Regina finished her bite, reaching out to stab another piece of the pre-cut deer meat, he seemed to snap himself out of his momentary trance. He set the plate down on the bed, his hands brushing over her lap as he did so.

She finished the plate, eating every single shred of meat on it. The deer was delicious. When she finally set her fork down to symbolize that she was done, Robin returned to where he had gone off to to get himself his own bowl.

He gazed at her, and she pretended not to notice as she stared out the window to her right, looking at the stars. Their brightness was at just the right intensity to be blinding if one stared too long. Without breaking her gaze she felt herself slip into her subconscious, focusing now only on her internal thoughts.

_She wasn't sure why she didn't let him feed her. He had done nothing wrong by offering his help. Sure, she was strong enough now and capable to do it herself. As a matter of fact she had been so the night prior but in her haze of overheating and exhaustion she had deemed his ministrations acceptable_.

But now, now she couldn't have him doing that. Not after she had seen the tattoo that marred his forearm. The marking that symbolized their undeniable connection.

Helping her to walk was one thing.

_But feeding her?_

_Bathing her?_

Those were completely different.

She had to distance him.

Distance them.

And she had tried to do so, every single day since.

He had continued going out early in the morning, hunting for whatever animal they would consume that day. He continued to chop wood and stack it in order to bring it in, to keep the fire from dying out. He sat by her bed as she rested and brought her cool towels when she needed them. He cooked in the morning and as well as in the evening, he helped her stretch her leg and walk on it in the afternoon.

It had been a week of perfect domesticity between them, minus the fights and the sometimes loud outbursts; followed by creative words meant to describe the other, it had been the most  _home_  like experience Regina had ever had. For brief, almost fleeting moments, Regina had felt like she could have experienced what a true partnership, a true relationship felt like when she was with him.

He was kind and caring. Strong and courageous.

There were many times when her eyes locked with his and she felt that same pull to him that she did that first night. Every time she moved in, just a little, and she heard how his breathing stopped. Her heart beat hammered in her chest. Once or twice she could almost feel his stubble on her cheeks, his warm breath on her lips. But then she remembered the tattoo and she pulled back.

It had become increasingly difficult throughout the week and even worse on their trek home. But that was a whole other story.

"What's changed?" She heard him ask as he was standing in front of her in the hall, shaking her out of her reverie, in a tone that suggested he was astonished that she would ask that, "You've changed. Ever since we got nearer to the castle. The closer we got the more you distanced yourself from me, as if for some reason, being back her erased everything that happened in the time that we spent together."

Regina was taken aback. She had grown used to his inability to speak anything but the utter truth, however she had not been prepared to hear it put so bluntly. She was silent for a moment, feeling awkward as the silence grew between them. She took in a shallow breath and spoke.

"Well what did you expect?

"I've learned to expect only the unexpected with you, Your Majesty." He said, solemnly.

For some reason, that she was not sure of, Regina was extremely hurt by that comment. The man began to turn to walk away, but before he did so he added, "I'm only trying to follow your lead Your Majesty."

He turned and walked away.

"Wait!" she yelled, stopping him with her voice. Suddenly it felt as if she had left her body and was floating towards him, landing dead center in front of him, her body conveniently blocking him from stepping around her, "You say your trying to follow my lead? Well then, follow this."

Her hands shot out and grabbed his neck, before he knew it she was crashing her lips to his. In a matter of seconds it was a battle of clashing teeth and tongues. The thief responded almost automatically, his strong arms wrapping around her with vigor.

He hoisted her up, the underside of his hands, brushing against the areas of her exposed flesh as he trailed them down her body to find the point just above the meatier part of her legs to grip onto her tightly.

Regina moaned. The thief's mouth went to her neck, sucking and nibbling his way down the long column.

She felt her back hit the cold stone wall of the hallway behind them, and she hissed. Her hands went to his hair and around his back, trying to remove him of his many layers of clothing.

It was all heat and passion until suddenly she heard him speaking.

"Your Majesty?" he said then there was a pause, and then he spoke again, "Regina?"

Regina snapped her eyes open, shaking her head to clear the haze. The outlaw stood before her, just a little way down the hallway.

She had not kissed him, nor had he pushed her against a wall and made her moan  _oh-so_  deliciously.

In fact, she was still standing there, mouth open, arm outstretched, reaching to grab his forearm in the hopes to turn him around.

"Regina are you alright?" He asked again.

There was something a bit lighter in his voice this time as he addressed her. She could see from the way that his brow furrowed that he was genuinely concerned for her health. His eyes automatically shot down to her leg, where he must have assumed her pain was spawning from. He gave her a thorough once over and Regina felt her cheeks turn pink.

There was something about his stare. Every time his eyes raked over hers, they put her on edge. Whether it was a casual glance or an out right lingering gaze of appreciation, the man always seemed to send a shiver up her spine. And apparently her subconscious knew it as well.

"I'm-I'm fine," Regina started still trying to shake the image of him kissing her so passionately from out of her mind. "I'm just not feeling so well." she lied.

"I think you could use some sleep Your Majesty." he said, returning to addressing her by her title again.

"I'm not tired." Regina snapped, her hands shooting to her hips.

She could see Robin inwardly roll his eyes at her tone. She seemed to revert back into her adolescent self more and more when she was around him.

She would have sworn he was about to say 'fine' and leave her be, standing alone in the hallway, but he didn't. Instead he surprised her as he pivoted on his heel, coming towards her.

When he was in range he put his hands on her hips and she gasped as she felt him beginning to pull her.

"What are you doing?" Regina asked, trying desperately to hide the fact that he had stolen her breath with his sudden movements, but failing when her voice had came out a bit huskier than normal.

"Taking you to bed."

xxx

Charming paced back and forth in his room.

He hadn't seen his wife for the past few hours, and he was getting anxious.

He knew that things had changed between her and Regina. That the blood, that had been spilt between them, all of the wrong doings and hatred, had been washed away under some proverbial bridge. However, he still didn't find himself too fond of Snow going of in search of her former step Mother.

Especially when she was gone for longer than she said she would be.

Charming turned, pivoting on his feet, towards the large double doors of their chambers. He was about to go through them, when they burst open and he saw his wife make her way into the room, a wide smile on her face.

"Snow!" He said, relief evident in his voice, "What is it?"

"She likes him!" Snow sing-songed, hazily, as if she were wrapped up in some fabulous dream. David wouldn't be surprised if she threw in a twirl.

"She likes who? Who is she?  _Regina?_ Regina  _likes_  someone!?" Charming rambled.

Snow only nodded, her eyes fluttering shut as if she were floating on some imaginary cloud of euphoria.

"Mmmhhmm," she hummed. "And Regina  _like_  likes him. She may not say it, but I can tell. I can always tell with her." Snow stated factually.

"Regina wears her emotions so clearly on her face, it's almost comical really." She continued.

Charming watched as his wife flitted through the room, reminding him of a frivolous butterfly. The gold and red designs in her dress caught the light of the flames in the fireplace, looking like wings, "And do you know what the best part is?" She asked once she calmed down enough to sit, perched on the arm of his grand chair.

"What?" Charming asked.

"I called it!" Snow exclaimed almost before he finished. "I knew it would be the archer that she would fall for! Knew it since the first day that they met! I saw the way she looked at him. I knew she was only trying to throw me off with her 'he smells like forest' comment." She said, making air quotations with her fingers, _"Ha!"_

"The archer?" Charming questioned, trying to decipher who it could be his wife was alluding to, "Who... wait  _Robin?! Regina_ likes _Robin!?"_

Snow fixed her husband with a look, as if to say 'of course, what are you? Blind?' After a moment of silence, she spoke.

"Of course Regina likes Robin, and he definitely likes her back. It's painfully obvious."

"Well apparently not," Charming rebuffed, "I didn't see it!"

His wife fixed him with another look. Charming huffed.

"So she's finally found someone? Huh, Well good luck to him." Charming said.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Snow asked.

It was now Charming's turn to stare at his wife, he raised his eyebrows trying to make his point, but when she continued to look confused he elaborated.

"This is Regina we're talking about. It's not hard to see why someone would like her. Physically she is something else, but..." he trailed off seeing his wife's eyes widen before narrowing dangerously, "I'm just saying that physically, she  _is_  beautiful!" He cleared up, raising his hands like a white flag, "You can't deny it."

Snow resorted to raising a brow but she said nothing.

"I'm just saying that I understand the initial attraction. But to  _really_  like her, that I admit, I didn't see coming. And for that I wish him luck. That does explain however why she gave him those arrows," Charming said pensively.

He raised one hand to rub his chin in thought and Snow noticed something that she hadn't before.

"David? What is that?"

Charming stopped rubbing his hand back and forth, "What is what?"

"That!" Snow said, shooting up from her spot on the arm rest of the chair, jetting to his side, "Is that stubble!?"

Charming tensed, he immediately spat out a 'No', trying to turn away from his wife's prying eyes. But she was to quick for him.

Snow grabbed her husbands hand, removing it from his face.

"It is!" She exclaimed seeing the blonde hairs!

"So what if it is?"

Snow gasped, "David Nolan, you've always been clean shaven! What is this? Trying to mimic the archer?"

By the shade of red that her husband turned, Snow took that as a yes.

"I just didn't feel like shaving." Charming muttered, but it was useless. Snow dissolved into a fit of laughter, pointing and snickering at her husbands flimsy excuse.

Charming swatted her hand away, but the princess didn't care as she couldn't do much but hold her sides to keep herself from doubling over with laughter.

"Yes-yes, ha ha," Charming said, "You have had your fun. I, for one rather like it. I think it gives me a rather dashing quality." He said, brushing off invisible pieces of lint from his coat.

Snow wiped the tears from eyes, heaving a few times before regaining somewhat of a normalcy to her breathing.

"Yes, yes it does," She agreed, cupping her hand around her husbands face, turning him to look at her again. "But, there is a reason why I call you Charming and not Dashing."

"Oh?" Charming said.

Snow nodded. She pulled him in, connecting their lips in a soft kiss. She felt the newly formed stubble scratch her cheeks. Instantly she thought of Regina and the archer, Robin. Unlike Charming, Robin had a full set of stubble and Snow realized that this must be what Regina felt when she kissed him.

Realizing that she was thinking of her step mother as she was kissing her husband, Snow made a small noise that sounded like a squeak, just about gagged; pulling away, breaking their kiss with a loud 'pop'.

Her eyes were screwed shut and she shook her head trying to shake the very unwelcome image of her step mother and the archer making out passionately from her mind.

"Snow?" Charming spoke.

Snow opened her eyes at the sound of his concerned voice, finally ridding her mind of battling tongues and teeth on against flesh.

"Are you alright?"

"Fine," Snow nodded, running her hand that was still cupping his face over his cheek. She felt the rough hairs under her thumbs. "But this," she said, eyeing the stubble, "This is not Charming and it has to go."

She heard a groan from her husband when she turned to walk away. He began to protest but she stopped him with a finger.

"There is no discussion, it needs to be gone before we go to sleep, or else you will be sleeping on the couch." She said and walked into the bathroom.

As much as she loved him, she could not kiss that stubbled face again.

Not when it conjured R-rated images of her step mother and the archer in to her mind.

Snow shook her head.

She needed a cold bath.

xxx

"Regina... Regina Stop! Look at me!"

Regina turned, twirling around so fast, her front almost rammed directly into the thief coming up behind her as she did so, taking him by surprise.

"What?!" She snapped.

The man looked stunned, however it only took him a minute to recover. She knew there was furry written in her eyes, embers left from a fire stoking behind them. Most would have backed down if the Evil Queen had turned on them like that, paralyzed with fear, begging her to spare their lives.

But he didn't.

_He_  never did.

In fact, Robin didn't appear to be threatened by her at all. Quite the contrary. His eyes looked alarmed, yes, but there was a different emotion on his face. Concern. Concern for her well being. It showed in the lines that crinkled around his brow and marred his face.

That was what irked her, the way in which he could get under her skin with just a look. It was like he could read her, like she was an open book. Her life, the pain, the hurt, the love, the loss, the joy. All of it. Every page, every paragraph, every sentence. Even the ones that had been crossed out. All of her story, wrapped up neatly on the pages of a book that he held in his hands. He had unraveled her.

It unnerved her.

They had been walking for hours now. She could almost taste the smell of the forest around them. The sun was up, but the chill of the early morning still hovered in the mist.

She had insisted that they get as early of a start as possible. Which hadn't been hard considering that she hadn't slept a wink the night before.

She couldn't. Every part of her had ached. Her body had wanted nothing more than to fall into a deep, undisturbed slumber full of rest and recuperation. But no matter how hard she had tried, sleep wouldn't come. Her brain would not shut off.

It had whirred and buzzed, recounting the events of the week. Replaying everything. Analyzing ever look, every gesture, every word that had been uttered out of the thief's mouth and her own.

_When had things changed between them?_

Regina knew they had, but she wasn't sure when.

One moment they had been bickering, alone at the dinner tables in the castle, and then next he was saving her life from that of a flying monkey. Then rushing her to his camp, into his own cabin. Caring for her and helping her. Tending to her wounds and her battered spirit.

He had been there for her. No matter how much she didn't deserve it, he had. He had been the one to save the Evil Queen when all others would have probably let her die.

She would have deserved it too. He would have had an easy out. She had gone out, on her own, to fight of an entire army by herself. She had known it was a dumb plan all along. She had even known that it could be considered a death wish, but she hadn't cared. She wanted to go. She had wanted to fight. She had wanted to fail. She wanted an out. And she would have gotten it.

But he had insisted.

And he had followed, when she said not too.

And he had fought  _for_  her.

He saved her from the monkey that had shredded her to pieces, maiming him as well. He saved her from the poison that ravaged her body. He had bandaged her and wrapped her up to stop the screams. He had brought her cool towels to combat the terrible sweats and heat waves in the night. He had held her hand through it all. He saved her from herself too.

And, last night, he had held her.

It had been late. She had been restless, tired of being cooped up in the small cabin; rooted to one spot on the bed, unable to move far enough to leave it, without her leg feeling as if it were about to burst open right on the spot.

She had moved, inching her way to the side of the bed, being careful to set her leg down gently on the floor as to not move the bandages too much.

When she had positioned herself correctly, she reached out to grab the side table and hoisted herself up.

The bolts of pain immediately began to shoot through her. She screwed her eyes shut, holding her breath. It was extremely excruciating but it wasn't long before the the shocks eventually began to recede. A few moments later they were gone, leaving only the simmering embers in their wake. She could still feel where the beast had sliced her open, depositing the Wicked Witches poison. It's sting was still there, but it was durable.

She opened her eyes, taking in a breath, preparing to take a step forward.

She did.

Her foot hit the cold floor, and her leg remained steady, her body intact and upright.

_She could walk!_

Regina exhaled, elated, smiling as she took one step after another. She was by no means graceful, she was hobbling a bit more than she would have liked, but she was mobile, therefore grateful.

She made her way across the small living room deciding to head straight for the main door to the cabin.

It had been a whole week since she had felt the crisp air or seen the sun, save from through a window. However, night had already fallen over the Enchanted Forest so she would have to make do with the dark. But she didn't care. She wanted to be anywhere but stuck inside.

Grabbing the cape that hung on the rack by the hearth, she made her way out of the door.

The cold hit her like a slap to the face.

She had only taken one step outside of the door but the cold front was evident. She shivered, realizing that the thief had done a particularly good job of keeping the fire stoked for her not to have realized how cold it had gotten outside of the cabin walls.

Her mind instantly wandered to Robin.

He had left about an hour ago, with the excuse that he needed to go out to find more wood for the fire.

Regina had known it had been a lie the moment he had said it. An excuse for him to get out of the cabin. But she had let him go without comment. He had been adamant about keeping the wood pile stocked as to not run out. He had created a pile inside the cabin, and as well, stacked up extra logs outside.

She had known because she had watched him, bringing the heavy logs in on the second day. Two at a time he had walked in with, depositing a stack next to the hearth before heading back outdoors to grab more.

He hadn't known that she had been watching, for she had feigned sleep the moment she had heard him coming back to the door. It had been the day after she had seen his tattoo and she was still in shock.

She had been avoiding him all morning. When the smell of bacon sizzling had attacked her senses, she had made a comment about her stomach not feeling well, in the hopes that he wouldn't try to make her breakfast, however he was having none of that.

He presented her with her food, mumbling something about needing to get supplies before heading into another room to change into more suitable attire and heading out for the day.

It had been a few hours later when he had returned with the first batch of wood.

Under lidded eyes, she had watched him. His chest heaving, logs piled high in his arms, a sheen of sweat glistening on his exposed skin.

The man was strong, she could see that. Regina felt her heartbeat pick up as the outline of his muscles became apparent under the thin shirt that he wore.

Somewhere in the process of cutting wood, he must have discarded the cape that he had been wearing for now all he had on was his usual forest green pants and a thin shirt.

His shoulders were broad. His back strong and firm. She could see the way that his muscles stretched and retracted when he set the logs down with control.

Suddenly she had felt hot, but it had nothing to do with her fever.

She had watched him as he exited and entered, repeatedly. Each time her eyes drawn to him, his back, to his body.

The man was glorious to behold, even still fully dressed.

She had found herself wondering what he would look like without the restriction of his clothing, until her eyes spotted the red mark that ran across his chest and curled up behind his ear.

And then all of her memories came back. Memories of the monkeys and the saving, the injury and the tattoo. All of the reasons why she should be trying to get better and shouldn't be thinking of him like that.

It took about an hour before he finally finished bringing in the logs. She had heard the dull thud of him stacking extra up against the outside wall of the cabin.

When he had walked back in however she had had to bite her tongue as he peeled off his thin shirt, now standing in his full glory from the waist up.

He was gorgeous. His skin slicked with sweat, glistening in the light, accentuating every line. The thief was built. He wasn't what she would have called a broad man, like that of Charming or his ilk. His bone structure was different, more toned than brute, that of an archer, but from what she could see there was nothing remotely small about him.

Regina blushed at the thoughts that entered her mind.

It wasn't until Robin turned, giving her a full view of his well defined front that she got her first look at the scar that was now cut across his entire chest. It started at the corner of his left hipbone. A bright, red, jagged line that sliced directly through his midsection, cut over his shoulder and swirled behind his right ear.

To her it almost looked like the path drawn on a map, however there was flesh used for paper and blood for the ink.

She shuddered at the thought of the pain that he had to go through and alone, because she had been in her own pain and unable to help.

He must have had to tend to his wounds later since she knew that he had immediately picked her up from where she had crumbled into a heap after the monkeys attack; and he had carried her there, to the cabin. Regina found herself wondering how badly he must have been hurting, caring for her while being injured himself, until another thought hit her. He had been attacked by the same poisoned talons of the monkey that had attacked her.  _How had he managed to escape the effects of the poison?_

Her mind spun however, at that moment, the thief moved, extending one long, muscular arm over his head, the other wrapping around to pull it into a stretch. There was a soft  _'pop'_ of his muscles and then she saw the tell tale mark of the tattoo that embossed his wrist.

Her whole stomach did a flip. She had immediately rolled over, averting her eyes from being able to see his undressed form any longer.

And that was why she had known that he hadn't gone in search of more firewood earlier that day.

Regina took another step into the frigid air. She remembered the cape in her arms and immediately threw it around her shoulders, feeling the warmth as it molded over her, fitting her like a glove.

She made her way in to the forest of trees that surrounded the cabin.

xxx

It was around a quarter of an hour later when she spotted what she had been looking for.

Ahead, past the thicket of wild bushes was a cool spring. Regardless of the chilling weather the water looked inviting, and she longed to soak her aching muscles in the brook.

Regina walked towards the pool, discarding the cape and beginning to remove the clothing that she was currently wearing.

It had been another set left from the thief. He had ceased dressing her on the night after her shock the first time, but it had become accustom for her to find to a new set of clothes sitting by her beside every morning for her to wear.

This set, had been a bit baggier than the rest of the clothing he had been providing her. She removed the overly large blouse with ease and took her time with the trousers, careful not to irritate her leg.

Once undressed, she situated herself at the edge of the stream.

Lowering in her good leg first, she tested out the water. It was cool however not freezing, despite the contradicting weather. She lowered herself in completely, only wincing when her cuts hit the water, until they got used to the sensation.

When her body was settled she found the water to be luke warm and it seemed to have somewhat of a soothing effect.

Regina sighed contentedly, leaning back, finding a small alcove near the edge to sit in, and rested her body.

She closed her eyes, breathing in deeply, letting the cool water wash around her.

She wasn't sure how long she had been there, soaking in the stream, until she opened her eyes again and noticed that the once dusky blue sky had darkened. The previous color now replaced by a deeper, darker shade.

The sky reminded her of a dress she owned, back at the castle. It was one of her favorites. The maker had made it specifically for her, using only the best and most luxurious royal blue velvet. He had said that the color complemented her eyes, and by the number of stares that she received when she wore the gown, he had been right. Maybe it helped that the back of the dress was completely non-existent, save for dozens of glittering diamonds that cascaded loosely down her back from the grand collar piece that ran around the front.

The diamonds started at her collar, draping over her shoulders like epaulets. Wrapping around and running down her back, adorning her in her own clinquant armor. It molded to her curves, the strands of sparkling diamonds weaving in and out intricately. It was a beautiful piece, and with the stars glittering brightly above in the sky the night reminded her of it, a lot.

Regina sat up, her body now blissfully numb. Only then did she realize that during her time spent in the stream her leg hadn't hurt once. In fact, for the first time since her arrival at the cabin, the excruciating pain that she had associated with any movement of the limb had stopped.

She gasped, momentarily in disbelief!

_Had the cuts been healed?!_

She looked down. The water in the brook was extremely clear and she could make out her leg perfectly. The injury was not gone, the gashes were still there, however the pain and the redness that had been swelling around them had receded.

Regina ran her fingers over the newly healed skin. Under the bubbling water there was no more coarseness, it was soft to the touch.

Her eyes ranked over the rest of her exposed body.

All of the cuts and bruises that had once been had now faded, only soft glowing skin left behind.

She blinked in surprise feeling her mind begin to work.  _The water must have some kind of healing ability,_  she thought.

Just then the image of the thief's glistening torso with the red scar made it way into her mind.

He surely would have had to have known that a brook with the ability to heal existed, and not so far from his camp. Regina then found herself questioning how good of an outdoors man he was if he hadn't yet discovered such a thing with all of his years of living amongst the trees.

She decided, that if he did not know, she would have to tell him about it and heal him with the streams powers.

The thought of Robin's body, completely unclothed and bare, dripping wet from the water shot a wave of heat through her so fast making her flush.

Regina was about to readjust herself where she sat but, just then she heard a noise from her left.

There was a 'crack', like the snap of branches breaking. She whipped her head around quickly, trying to get a view of whatever or whoever it was that had snuck up on her.

Her eye's zoomed in on the thicket back behind the boulder where she sat.

She could see nothing but leaves. The darkness of the night engulfed her, clouding her vision. However, a moment later, another branch moved near the spot where she had heard the noise.

Regina jumped.

Not only was she unprotected, but she was very alone and very, very naked.

She tried to reach out and grab for the discarded clothes that lay by the shore however all she could manage to reach was the cape. She gripped it just as she heard a voice.

"Regina!"

She instantly recognized the accent. It was none other than the thief.

She stood, water droplets dripping off of her as she wrapped the cape around herself just as he came into her view. He burst through the trees, chest heaving, eyes open wide with panic.

His head whipped back and forth, as if he were searching adamantly for something. His eyes moving along with until they stopped suddenly, landing on her her.

"Regina." he breathed. The airy quality of voice due made him sound like he had been out of breath and did things to her body.

She felt suddenly very warm even though she was standing naked, save for the cape draped over her, outside in the cool night.

The thief began to walks towards her and she stepped back, faltering slightly when her foot lost bearing on the slippery rocks below.

It was then that Robin seem to noticed for the that she was not in her normal setting but rather, in the stream with nothing but his cape covering her. He took her in and Regina could see his adams apple bob as he swallowed heavily.

When his eyes finally reached hers they were as dark as the night sky.

She shivered, but not from the cold.

"Regina, what are you doing out here?" He spoke again after the moment of silence.

"I was taking a walk and I came across this stream and decided to take a bath." She answered, as if her doing so was completely logical.

If she hadn't of been watching the mans face as closely as she was, she might have missed the way his eyes darkened further when she mentioned taking a bath. However he spoke again before she could comment.

"Why didn't you tell me you where you were going." He stated.

Immediately Regina felt her embarrassment from being caught fade away, replaced by a sudden pang of annoyance.

"I don't have to run everything past you," She snapped. "Besides you weren't there to tell. You left,  _remember?_ "

She watched as Robins face twisted, his brows knitting together unattractively.

She expected him to be upset, to rebuke her statement and to tell her that she was being childish, but he didn't. Instead he shook his head releasing a low breath.

After a moment, he whispered, "You are right."

"Excuse me?"

"I said you were right. You don't have to run anything past me Regina, I'm not your keeper, you owe me no loyalties." He said, bowing his head slightly, "I can see that you are perfectly fine, so I'll take my leave, sorry to have disturbed you."

With that the Thief began to turn away, reaching up a hand to pull back the curtain of branches that he had burst through moments before.

But he was stopped before he could go any further.

She wasn't sure what had possessed her. Whether it was the strangeness of the night or the attachment that she was beginning to feel towards the man before her, she couldn't let him leave. At least, not like that.

"Robin, wait." She said, turning him with her hand.

She hadn't realized that she had left the water, nor had she realized how cold the night truly was.

A shiver ran through her as the chill in the air seemed to ripple across her skin.

The man turned his head ever so slightly. Not enough to fully see her, yet enough to let her know that he was listening, as if he were waiting to see if something in her words was going to be enough to make him stay.

"The water," she began.

She felt him turn towards her and could picture the look of confusion on his face perfectly as she turned her head back towards the stream she was referring too.

She continued. "The water stream, it seems to have some sort of healing ability. I only just realized," she stated. "Look what it did to my leg."

Regina reached down, pulling the cape apart to show the newly healed skin. She realized only to late how high the injuries were, and remembered only then how naked she was. Nonetheless she found herself standing, facing the man, who was apparently her soul mate; pulling back the one garment that separated her from indecency and showing him the bare flesh of her upper thigh.

She blushed when she realized and pulled the cape shut.

"See," she stuttered slightly, "I think if you were to bathe in it it will do the same for you." She said, subconsciously reaching out and dragging a finger over the outline of the scar that he was boasting under his clothes as she spoke.

Robins eyes fluttered shut for a moment, however they sprung right back open when he felt her hand nearing the end of the bloody red line up by his ear.

"No, no, no, don't!" He said.

Regina instantly withdrew her wandering hand, confused as to how it had gotten so close to him anyway.

"What?!" She asked suddenly, taken aback at how quickly the man moved away from her, for a moment she would have believe that he had been burned until he spoke.

"Don't touch me!"

Now she was lost.

Unlike the soothing feeling from the water in the stream moments before, she felt like she had just been doused with a bucket of ice water. It shot through her veins, freezing her blood, stopping her heart.

Somewhere deep down she had thought that the man had somewhat enjoyed her touch, what from the way his eyes would always closed whenever she was near, or the quickening of his heartbeat whenever his chest was under her palms.

But judging by that reaction maybe she had been wrong.  _He found her repulsive._

Regina was about to turn and collect her clothes to leave but the man spoke, halting her.

"With the water I mean," Robin said. "It's still on you."

At the sight of Robin's hand gesturing towards her hands Regina looked down. Sure enough there was still water left from the stream on her palms.

"Why?" She asked, confused, "What does that have to do with anything?"

The thief seemed to take a moment to collect his thoughts before letting out a deep breath and speaking.

"This is a magic pond. It's waters come from the healing springs from ancient lagoon in a distant realm. They can heal, sooth, salve, stop aging, petrify youth, and even halt death if needed. It's one of the many reasons as to why we picked this place to set up our camp. It's only catch however is that the pool can only be used once by a single person, and for only one purpose." Robin said.

Understanding began to seep into the Queens mind. She nodded slowly, dissecting the information the thief had just given her before putting it back together.

"So you've used it before then?" She asked when clarity hit her.

Robin nodded his head once.

She wanted to ask more however the solemn look that now masked the mans face, made her think that he did not wish to explain further. So she bit her tongue.

"What happens if you do use it twice?" She asked instead.

At this the mans head dropped forward. Hands clenched and head shaking slightly, as if he were incredibly burdened by the question.

Regina was about to take it back but he spoke.

"Your leg."

Regina blinked, confused, "What?"

"The injuries on your leg, that's what happens."

In the entire week that Regina had spent with this man she had seen him in all sorts of lights. In panic, in calmness, in anger and in joy, but she had never seen him looking as defeated as he did now.

Regina looked down, following Robin's gaze. She parted the cape to try and take a look over her injured thigh, but she quickly stopped when she remembered that the skin would look normal as it had been healed only moments before.

"I thought it was the witches monkeys that did this to me?"

"It was!" Robin exclaimed, "The cuts, yes, the poison, yes, that was all from the monkey. But the pain, the screams. That, that was from the stream. That was the water. That was... my fault."

Regina felt her nose crinkle and her eyebrows furrow in confusion.

_What did he mean by 'his fault'?_

"What are you talking about?" She asked.

Robin looked at the least uncomfortable. Regina realized that she had never before seen the man like this, and it scared her.

When he didn't respond she whispered,  _"Robin?"_

Her voice seemed to snap him out of the trance that he had fallen into. He shook his head, as if clearing an invisible fog from his eyes, turning to look at her.

She could barely make out the ragged breathing and the red rims forming under his eyelids, but the unshead tears were evident. The silvery light from the moon seemed to pick up on the dampness, making it shine like diamonds.

Regina felt her breath leave her when she noticed, and when his voice cracked as he spoke again she stopped breathing all together.

"The poison was fast acting. Regina, when you fell, from the beasts claws, you weren't just injured. Y-You were dying. And I-I thought that, I thought that maybe these waters could save you. So I picked you up and carried you here. And when I tried to bathe you in the water you did get better, the color began to return to your cheeks. But suddenly, it-it backfired. The poison doubled and the pain increased. You began screaming and thrashing, horridly, in severe pain. Those were the worst sounds I have ever heard. I pulled you out to bring you back but-" He stopped, taking in a deep breath, "But by then it was already to late. The witch must have known that I would try to do something like that. She must have mixed a spell into that poison."

"How could she, no one knew you were going to go with me?" Regina thought aloud.

"It is obvious M'lady." Robin responded.

Regina watched him shrug, as if she should know what answer he was referring too, but when she came up with nothing she only found herself becoming more confused and frustrated.

"What do you mean?" She asked, looking for clarification.

"I always go with you Regina."

Regina felt her heart slam against her chest.

There was nothing in the mans statement that was false. Nothing that was a lie or in anyway untrue, and that scared her. He was always with her. Whenever she ventured out, some way or some how he was always there. Maybe not by her side, but near. Near enough to keep an eye on her, to watch her, to make sure she was okay. He had become her own 'unofficial' protector.

She hadn't thought much of it when Snow had suggested that he be the one to accompany her in finding the Witches simian army. She had thought it was just her ex-step daughters way of looking out for her, like she always did, but now she could see the truth. Now she could see what everyone else in the castle had apparently seen for weeks now. Everyone except for her.

The thief cared for her.

And not only did he care to protect her, and to keep her safe, but he felt for her.

She could see it, written in his eyes, as clearly as she could see the sun in the sky on a clear day.

He was hurting, because he thought that he had hurt her.

Regina gasped, when she realized however the sound got stuck in her throat for it had dried up from her mouth hanging open in surprise.

He was her soul mate.

And he had found her.

And he had cared for her.

And he felt for her.

She felt like she was about to cry, until he spoke.

"Regina I-I'm so... I'm so sorry that I.. I should have-" he stammered. She could see the unshead tears now teetering dangerously close to the edge, ready to fall. She was already having trouble holding back the emotions that were coursing inside of her, ones that she hadn't felt in a very long time, and she wasn't sure what she would do if he began to cry. So instead she reached out, looking to stop him. To comfort him.

"Robin it's okay," She began. "You saved me."

Regina watched as the mans eyes went from staring at the ground and shot directly up to hers.

She could now see the tears clearly. The red around his eyes evident.

His eyes searched hers, and for a moment she would have sworn that they were speaking to her. Begging her to forgive him, pleading with her not to hate him. His eyes spoke volumes. She could see every fleck. Every line, every value that made up his unique color of blue. She was drawn in.

She didn't know when it was or who it was that had moved first, but they were now closer together than they had ever been.

She could feel his breath on her cheeks. She could almost taste the salt from his tears.

Her hand stretched out from under the cape, making it's way up to him, to soothe him and cupping his face.

She didn't care what she knew. She didn't care what fate had planned for them. She didn't care that he was apparently the man that she had walked away from all those years ago. She only cared about what was happening now. It was them. She could see how he felt clearly in his eyes. There had been no exchange of feelings stated verbally, there was no need. She could feel it, radiating from him.

Through every touch when she was sick. Every caress when he was helping her walk.

Him bathing her, nursing her. Bringing her back to life.

He felt for her, deeply, and it wasn't because of some stupid tattoo. She knew that now, staring deep into his eyes. She could feel it.

His face was close to hers. His lips just hovering over her own.

He was looking at her, asking for permission yet again with his eyes.

She felt her walls begin to rise up, but she forced them back down.

He could have kissed her at any moment, but he didn't. He was waiting, giving her all of the power. Waiting for her to be the one to make the first move.

Regina felt her heart swell suddenly at the thought.

There was someone who wanted to care for her. Who worried for her. Who was concerned for her well being. All of his own accord.

She had done nothing to make him want her. Nothing to force him into liking her. In fact, as she looked back, she would say she had done  _everything_  in her power to push him away.

But he had persisted. He hadn't given up on her. He had followed her to the end.

And now, he was waiting. Waiting for her to decide. To choose him.

And she was going to choose him.

She was going to let him in.

She was going to let him have her.

And, if he was willing, she was going to let him love her.

She nodded to him as her eyes fluttered shut.

Her hand found it's way to his face to cup his cheek. But the moment her fingers touched his flesh she felt a shock run straight through her.

There was nothing pleasant about it.

Everything that she had felt a moment before vanished, replaced by pain. Pain that ripped through her, tearing at her limb from limb. She screamed, her head shooting backwards, hand dropping by the wayside.

It felt as if the world had gone and imploded inside of her body, the epicenter of it of course being her leg.  _The water had still been on her hands and she had touched him!_

It felt like the wounds that had been momentarily healed were back, ripping themselves open violently. She howled, pulled under by the searing pain. She began to crumble as she lost complete control of her body.

It was only then when she felt arms encircle her, surrounding her from the chilling night.

They picked her up, carrying her. She felt her head loll back onto a shoulder as her feet were swept from underneath her.

There were shouts, she could just make them out, mingling and mixing with her own screams. But she couldn't tell what they were saying.

There was wind, it was moving around her, brushing past her, fast.

She felt a sudden heat and then the feeling of soft feather pillows beneath her head as warm blankets encompassed her shivering body.

There was a lot of movement and then she heard a voice yelling, "Regina! Regina can you hear me?!"

The heat was beginning to over take her and she began to kick off the sheets.

"No, no you need to keep these on." she heard the disembodied voice say.

She kicked again, but then she felt two hands come around her sides, holding the blankets in place, "They're going to help the fever break, trust me, you'll want these on. Nod once if you can hear me.

Regina nodded. Something about the voice made her feel calm, safe. Since she couldn't think about anything other then the rippling pain she decided to trust it and she lay still. The motion of her head however sent her into another fit of screams as another bolt of pain shot through her body.

She bucked and yelled. Wailing into the night.

The hands moved, lower this time, right to the part of her leg that felt like a raging inferno.

"Regina, I'm going to have to get the numbing agent. I'm going to need you to stay still, can you do that?"

She tried to answer but her voice came out as nothing more than a strangled whimper.

"Just nod." It said.

She did.

Instantly she felt the loss of warmth as his hands left her body. There was a small crash and the sound of shuffling and then movement at the end of the bed.

She felt the thick blankets atop of her being moved.

"I'm going to apply this. It is going to sting, but I need you to stay strong and stay still, can you do that Regina?"

She nodded again, lighter this time as to not set off her leg.

When she felt the cool salve touch her skin there was a moment of pure bliss before the the pain set in.

It was different this time, cool, like she was freezing.

The chill set in almost instantly, attacking her every nerve. It started at her thigh, making its way up her leg and through her abdomen. She felt it slither it's way up her rib-cage and spread out through her chest as if it were freezing her from the inside.

And then, finally, it was gone.

She couldn't feel the burning in her leg.  _There was no more pain!_

She wanted to laugh and to cry, all at the same time. She was in such a state of pure euphoria, for a moment she even forgot her own name.

_The pain was gone and he had healed her, yet again!_

The man in question was currently hovering over her, running his hands along her sides, grabbing at the blankets and the cape, trying to keep what little remained of her decency intact.

Regina however couldn't care less about her current state of undress.

She reached up, capturing his face and running her fingers through his soft hair.

She could see the mans eyes widen slightly as she did so. She curled her fingers, digging them in slightly to the nape of his neck. All she wanted was to hold him close.

She could do nothing but stare at his face, hovering above hers. They had been in that situation multiple times before. The first time on the night he had carried her there, when she had been sure that he was going to kiss her. And now with her staring at him, holding him close to her. All she could see was his blue eyes, sparkling in the light. She stared at his angled visage, taking in every detail. The lines above his brow, the crinkles around his eyes from laughter.

He was beautiful.

Her eyes dropped down, taking in his pink lips. She wanted to feel them on her own and as the thought hit her, it became too overpowering not to voice.

"Kiss me." She whispered, pulling at his neck.

She closed her eyes but he didn't move. Instead he stayed still, rock hard, completely immobile.

Regina opened her eyes, staring into his, "Robin," she said again, tugging on his neck to bring him closer to her, "Kiss me."

But he didn't.

"Regina, I-" he began. "I am an honorable man, I try to live by a code and right now you are not yourself. I will not take advantage of you in this state, therefore I cannot kiss you."

Regina couldn't believe her ears.

She dropped her hands from him so fast like they had been burned, they bounced slightly when they hit the bed beneath her.

"Regina I'm s-" he started but she cut him off.

"Save it." Was all she said, turning away from him.

She could hear him speaking behind her, but she didn't care for whatever it was he was saying. She spoke over him, "We leave, first thing tomorrow."

And with that she rolled over.

She felt the effects of the numbing agent working it's way through her system instantly, slowing down her heart beat until she felt sleep taking over, pulling her into it's black hole of dreamless slumber.

xxx

They had been walking for hours now and the sun was just starting to break through the clouds.

He breathed in the scent of the earth mixing with the dampness of the forest.

It had been a long walk. Painfully silent, but bearable. He had been watching her the entire time. Robin noticed she reached down every few minutes, rubbing circles on her leg, but other than that she was almost automatic, walking in a straight line towards the castle. He knew that the numbing potion he had given her would make the pain in her leg bearable enough for her to stand without wanting to chop it off every few seconds. However it was not meant to heal nor regrow flesh, and he worried for her health as she continued walking on it. He had tried to stop her, at least to get her to slow down a bit in the hopes of not overworking her leg, but she would have none of that.

She insisted that she was fine, but he could tell that she wasn't.

The moment the skies had opened up that morning and the light had streamed in through the windows of the cabin, she had sprung up, wrapping his cape that she had slept in around her shoulders and making her way towards his room. He had wondered how she had known where it was since she had never left the vicinity of the living room and why she was headed there. But when he heard the sound of his drawers being opened and clothes moved around, he understood.

She was looking for clothing.

He could hear her dressing. Picking out one of his shirts for a top and a pair of his pants for the bottoms. He had become slightly accustomed to seeing her clad in his attire. She managed to maintain her feminine appeal even under the mask of his baggy clothes. To him she looked more beautiful with her hair down, loose and wavy, her harsh makeup gone leaving only her blushed cheeks and tanned skin. Her face invaded his thoughts and he found himself thinking of her and the way that she had looked the night before.

When she had been holding him, pulling his face so close to hers. He had been almost been able to taste her, close enough to kiss her.

But he hadn't.

She had even asked him to, but he couldn't, even when everything inside of him had been screaming at him to run a hand through her hair, to bury his lips with hers and to  _never_  let her go.

But he couldn't bring himself to do it. She had given him permission but it hadn't felt right.

He had known that she had been in a massive amount of pain moments before and was being influenced somewhat by the ingredients in the numbing agent he had used. They were a very rare mix of herbs that he had come across once on his travels. Mashed together, they could numb the pain of just about anything. Not only physical injuries but mental and emotional ones as well.

Robin had known that in her mind she must have felt heavenly. The pain relieved, bringing her to a state of pure bliss and ecstasy.

_Of course she had asked him to kiss her then._

She had forgotten everything that had happened between them up until that point. To her, he had just been the man that had healed her, bringing her to that rapturous state.

If she had been anyone else, he might have gone ahead and kissed her. He could not deny, he had wanted to feel her lips under his. To taste her, to feel her softness under his tongue. She had given him permission, she had asked for him to do it, but she wasn't just anyone and he couldn't bring himself to. She was a Queen, and though she wasn't his Queen by jurisdiction, she had somehow managed to become the Queen of his heart.

He wanted her, fully. And, selfish as it was, he wanted to be wanted by her in return. He made a vow that he would not kiss her until they were both fully in control of their minds and emotions, aware of what it was that they felt for each other.

So, for now, he would wait.

Initially when he had awoken that morning to find her bed completely empty he had felt like he had been thrust into a shower of pure ice, for that was the sensation that washed over him as fear clenched his heart.  _Had she left?_  It wasn't until he heard the sound of her shuffling feet, moving rapidly behind him, that he realized she was still there. He took in a deep breath, stilling his accelerated heart beat. He shifted his position in the rickety arm chair next to her bed where he had chosen to retire for the night in order to keep an eye on her as she slept.

She had only stirred once, whispering incoherent nothings' into the night in her sleep.

He closed his eyes as to appear still asleep when she returned.

But she didn't.

He strained his ears to pick up the sound of her feet moving over the floor boards of his room, but there was nothing.

She had stopped moving. Something in the room must have caught her attention. There was a moment of utter stillness that passed through the small cabin and then he picked up the tiniest of gasps.

He heard her feet move quickly, the floorboards creaking lightly under her weight. There was a thud of his door closing, moments later it opened again and she emerged fully dressed.

He watched through squinted eyes as she came back around leaning over to grab something on the bed, clad in the his attire. She was wearing one of his favorite tops, tucked into a pair of loose pants. It was a far cry from her royal gowns at the castle, but she somehow managed to look equally as regal. She turned after grabbing whatever it was she had been looking for and then he noticed what had made her pause in his room.

Under his shirt, she was now wearing the corset that she had been in when she had been attacked by the winged beast. It was torn slightly, the red that had stained it, the blood from her wounds was still visible. He had tried to wash it off in the stream when he had taken her there the first time. But when he had stepped in he had forgotten about the waters limits, to focused on divesting her of the item so that she could breath before dragging her in along with him.

That was when the screams had started. The moment she had touched the water they had ripped through her. He was momentarily stunned until he realized that it was because he had entered the pool first and the water was already working on healing him.

Robin had jumped out, picked her up and carried her back to the cabin in the hopes to stop her screaming, leaving her dress and corset behind them.

When she had calmed, falling into a deep sleep he had remembered the forgotten items and made his way back to the water to find then. He had jumped in, to the stream closer to the cabin, scrubbing at the torn dress and corset, trying to rid them of their blood stains but it was already to late. The color had already deeply set in to the fine fibers of the fabric and would not come out by any means of cleansing. So he had given up.

He had brought the items back with him however and hung them in his room to dry.

He still wasn't exactly sure why he had done it. But it had felt wrong to leave them, so he had hung them and they had stayed by his bedside the whole week.

Out of the corner of his eye he could see Regina, as she tip-toed over to him. She stopped suddenly in front of him. For a moment Robin would have sworn that she was staring at him, gazing silently at his fallen arm.

He had seen her looking at it once before, the night when he had been sure that she was going to kiss him. Since then she had avoided looking at that part of his anatomy, casting her gaze the the ground whenever his forearm was exposed to her.

He wasn't quite sure why, but something about the tattoo that he boasted there disturbed her.

Nevertheless she had been standing over him for a moment before she woke him, saying that it was time to go.

He could smell her scent as clearly now, as he did then.

In his mind he had infanticide that the walk back would be quick and amicable but it was proving to be neither.

The more they neared the borders of the woods that lead to her castle the more rigid she became. Walking with more and more fervor, dropping her hand down to rub her leg more often.

At this rate she was going to burn out before they reached the bridges, possibly reopen her wounds and he only had so much salve left.

"What is it that you want?!" she snapped.

"Regina you need to slow down, or at least take a moment to drink some water and rest, your leg cannot be taking very well to all of this walking."

But she shook her head and didn't stop, "I'm fine." She responded.

"I'm not talking about what you're forcing yourself to believe," he began, "I applaud your tenacity and your ability to get back up so quickly and push forward. But right now your body is still healing and you are not doing a good job of taking care of it. And I for one would hate to see it damaged any further."

Robin was watching the Queen, her backside to him. He would swear that he saw her muscles tense suddenly as he finished speaking, however the moment was gone with the pass of the breeze and then she was stopped walking, standing stock still a few paces ahead of him.

"Regina,' he tried again. His voice seemed to wake her from her momentary trance and she began walking again.

"Regina... Regina Stop! Look at me!" He shouted, reaching out an arm to spin her around. But she had beaten him to it.

Her hair whipped around her head as she whirled back to face him. Her eyes were wide and dark with furry. He could see the annoyance lighting up in them.

"What?!" She snapped at him.

Robin had had enough, she had been on and off with him all morning, choosing to speak to him only when she absolutely needed to. Only showing him hospitality when she required his help, to lift her over a log or to jump over a pond. Other than that she had began to treat him like she had when they had first met. Cold and distant. Like he didn't even matter enough for her to acknowledge his presence.

That bugged him.

He could see that she was in no mood for him to test her, but he couldn't help it. If she continued on with the way she was treating him, she was going to make him lose his temper.

"Regina you need to stop!"

"Let go of me!"

"REGINA!" He bellowed.

His shout seemed to halt her, freezing her momentarily to the spot. Her eyes were already wide but they still seemed to grow by a fraction of an inch. She always froze whenever he raised his voice with her and Robin wondered briefly if anyone else had ever dared match themselves to her childish temper. Judging by the stunned expression on her face, he guessed not.

He wasn't exactly sure what made him think that he should be the one to equal her, but it didn't stop him.

Robin stared at her straight, keeping their eyes locked.

He could see her throat constrict as she swallowed and released a shallow breath. Her bottom lip began to tremble.

Realizing that he still had his hands wrapped tightly around her, gripping her forearms, he released her. She let out a small sound when he let her go and he wondered for a moment that if in his temporary rage he had hurt her.

Robin shook his head, dropping his eyes down, unable to bear the possibility of the thought and remain looking at her.

"Please," he said, looking to end the silence that had fallen between them, "Just drink this and rest a moment."

He procured a canteen from one of the many pockets of his cape. When she took it he released a breath that he hadn't known he had been holding. Regina took a sip, he was sure of it as his hands twitched to reach out and stop the few water droplets that escaped and rolled down her chin, leaving a glistening trail down her throat.

Robin looked up, avoiding her gaze.

He could just make out the castle looming in the distance. It always looked so lonely to him. Like a large museum. Big and full of treasures, but completely void of all love and life.

He realized then that it was Regina, who had been the one to paint the castle black. It had always been white before. But it had became a mirror image of how she had felt when she was it's main inhabitant, when she was the Evil Queen, the lone ruler of this land, the Enchanted Forest.

She had been lonely, just like the fortress. Desolate, compassionless and alone.

Robin frowned realizing that in the week that they had spent together he had seen her come out of her shell. She had taken off her regal mask that she wore with everyone else and she had let him in. She hadn't told him every dirty secret about herself, but she had opened up. She had trusted him enough to let him see her, the real her, and now, now she was reverting back.

He felt a slight pang in his heart as he realized that the events that had transpired between them, the companionship they had built, the trust, it was all gone. Faded away like the night turning into day.

He pushed down the lump that was beginning to form in his throat.

Looking at her out of the corner of his eye he could see that she too seemed to be lost in her own thoughts. She was staring off in the distance a glazed look over her eyes.

"Ready Your Majesty?" He asked.

The Queen shook her head, shaken from her daze. She nodded, turning her sight back to him.

The moment their eyes connected he thought he saw a hint of something flash through her eyes. He wasn't quite sure what, but he had known it had been there. Something had clouded her vision, running through her irises, making them flash.  _Sadness, maybe?_

But she was moving again, walking past him before he had the chance to question what.

They made their way back to the castle in complete silence.

xxx

Snow waited, sitting patiently at the grand dining table, watching her breakfast cool in front of her.

"Snow, darling, your food is getting cold." came the voice of her husband next to her.

She didn't respond, merely shaking her head.

"You're going to have to eat some time today." He pushed.

"Yeah, it would be a real shame to let all of that good food go to waste Sister." Said Leroy from her right, "I hear Granny cooked it up special and she wouldn't want to see it thrown away untouched."

There was a unanimous grunt of approval from each of the inhabitants currently eating breakfast around the table.

When the Princess still didn't move towards her food however Charming took her hand in his trying to talk to her again, "Snow..." he began.

"I'm waiting for them David!" She snapped.

"Them?" He questioned, taken aback, "Them, who?"

But just then the doors to the dining hall opened. Charming watched as his wife's face lit up, her eyes shooting to the doors, but suddenly drooping as her face turned from it's bright smile into a frown.

He followed her eyes with his towards the person that had just made their entrance into the hall.

Robin walked into the great hall, making his way over to his spot at their table.

Charming smiled as his eyes made contact with Robin's. It was good to see him alive and well. Charming himself, had been one to place a bet that the Queen had gone off on one and killed the woodsman when news had spread that they had gone missing.

He had never seen the connection between Robin and Regina however, until his wife had mentioned it the night prior. Initially he had thought she was crazy, going off and spouting from her vast imagination that he loved her for, about some fairy-tale romance between the pair, that she liked to do; but now that he thought about it, the less crazy it seemed. He could understand feeling an attraction towards Regina. Like he had already told his wife, it was hard to deny that the woman was beautiful.

_But to go further than that, to actually care for her?_  Well that would take a whole other kind of man.

Charming stared at the famous woodsman for a moment, taking in his muscular build and dashing looks.

He had to admit, the Thief and the Queen would look good together.

Robin pulled out his seat, sitting down to the left of the dwarf, Leroy, and said his 'hello's' to the rest of the gathered company, while grabbing a plate.

Charming could see Snow out of the corner of his eye, watching the man curiously.

By the way her eyes were shifting he could tell that she had been waiting for Regina to enter in along side him.

She had blurted out last night that she thought the Thief was sharing the Queens bed and she hadn't stopped talking about it since. Apparently she had sent Regina out after their talk to find the thief.

Charming had known that his wife was a bit of a busy body when he married her, he loved it about her, how much she cared for other people, but sometimes he found it a bit overbearing. And right now, suffice it to say, he was taking great pleasure in seeing the Thief come down to breakfast alone, blowing a hole into his wife's metaphorical-ship.

"Did you sleep well Robin-" he heard her begin, but suddenly all speaking was dulled as the doors to the great hall once again opened, this time with a bit more force, slamming as they hit the stone walls behind them.

He could just picture the wide smile that was growing on his wife's face as the royally dressed woman behind the doors sauntered her way towards the table.

"Sorry I'm late, I do hope you haven't been waiting." was all she said.

Charming almost rolled his eyes at the irony of the statement.

"You weren't the only one late." came the gruff voice of Leroy again as he gulped thirstily from his goblet.

Charming, who's eyes had been on the Thief, only caught a second of it as he turned his head back to the Queen, but he was certain about what he had seen. Regina had been masking her features well, up until that moment.

When the dwarf spoke she hadn't whipped her head around nor made any moves at all. No, it was more subtle. He had seen it in her eyes when they had flashed towards the Thief next to her before she schooled her features once again, responding in a cool tone.

"I see." She said. He hadn't picked up the huskiness in her tone until then. Her voice seemed to be quite a bit deeper and a bit more breathy than normal.

There was a slight smile in the crook of the Thief's rugged face and Charming felt his eyebrows shoot up as the Queen sat down. _Snow had been right! They were sleeping together!_

"Good Morning Regina," he heard his wife begin, a certain smugness to her voice, "how did you sleep?"

"Perfectly fine dear." Responded the Queen.

"Oh?" Snow questioned.

Regina fixed his wife with a look, "Yes, nothing new to report." She said, with a raise of her eyebrow as she tilted her head.

At that point it seemed like everyone else that had been blissfully unaware of the happenings between the Princess and the Queen up until then, were tuning in, turning their heads to watch the spectacle happening before them.

"I see." Snow said, mimicking the woman across from her.

The Queen only rolled her eyes, settling further into her seat while reaching for a plate.

As she did so however Robin's arm shot out before her, stopping her in her attempt to grab a bowl and he handed her one himself.

"For you Milady." Charming heard him whisper.

For a moment he felt his heartbeat quicken as he realized that might be the last time he ever saw his friend, Robin Hood, alive again. But Regina merely shook her head, her eyes staring at the man holding the plate before her. Charming felt his eyes widen when she chose just to take it from him, without first burning him to a crisp.

He thought he heard her whisper a 'thank you' but he was to focused on watching the way that each of their eyes sparkled when they looked at one another, to be sure.

If they had been going for discreet they were failing, miserably.

He sat back, suddenly not hungry anymore, enjoying the phenomenon happening before him more than his potatoes and toast.

It wasn't until he felt his wife's hand hit him from under the table that he looked away from the couple who were both trying to eat inconspicuously.

_"Wha-"_ he began to say but he saw the small finger Snow was holding up to her lips and he stopped.

He shook his head, crinkling his brows and eyeing her in questioningly. She raised her brows flicking her eyes over to the couple that he himself had just been staring at.

As he began to shift his head to look over again he felt her hand squeeze his thigh. He whipped his head back, raising his brows higher, confused by her mixed signals.

Snow shook her head and then averted her eyes back at the couple then slowly downwards.

Charming followed her gaze, finally understanding. He leaned back a little to peer under the table at the Queen and the Thief.

He could just make out the deep green color of Robin's pant legs and the elaborate fabric of Regina's thick gowns. He was about to shake his head again and question his wife as to why she had directed him to look there, but then he did a double take, his jaw dropping open, as he saw what she had been looking at.

There, under the table, the Queen had her hand wrapped around the Thief's, drawing circles over his hand, resting comfortably atop of her thigh.

Charming quickly cast his gaze back up.

From the view presented above the table no one would assume that the duo was doing anything more than enjoying breakfast sitting next to each other. They wore no telling smiles nor shared any heated glances. But he had seen the evidence of their relationship from their connected hands and threaded fingers.

Charming sat back again, a wide smile on his face, contented to watch the two sit in silence as they tried to hide their apparent attraction for one another.

It appeared the Queen really had found someone that cared for her.

xxx

He wasn't dragging her but she also wasn't picking her feet up as much as she could have been, resulting in her slightly leaning on him as he helped her up the stairs.

Her leg was hurting, but not as badly as it could of been. Nevertheless she used it as an excuse and she leaned a little further back into his embrace as they made it to the threshold of the top landing, nearing her room.

It was completely dark in the hallways save for the light flickering against the walls from the mounted wicker candles.

She could see the outline of his figure behind her, their silhouettes slightly distorted on the stone wall, his hands on her hips, and it sent a shiver through her.

The doors of her chambers were now coming into view.

Suddenly she felt her heart jump into her throat, as her blood surged through her. It started at her core, heating up the rest of her body under her thin nightgown rapidly.

Robins hands moved suddenly and she felt her breath join her heart, catching in her throat.

He was spinning her around and for a moment she thought that she might fall. But of course his hands caught her, holding her close again in his embrace. This time her chest was against his, his eyes staring into hers.

"This is where I leave you Milady." He said.

She could feel the deep timbre of his voice rumble through his broad chest under her hand. Her eyes flickered up connecting with his and she found herself speaking.

"Do you have to?" She asked, hearing the words leaving her lips not registering that they were coming from her until she saw his eyes widen a little before he bit his top lip and shook his head.

"Do you not want me to?" He asked.

Regina wasn't sure if she was breathing or not, regardless she shook her head from side-to-side 'no', stepping back, exiting his embrace and heading towards the door.

She reached it, but before she pushed it open she turned her head, glancing at the man over her shoulder. She could see the confused look on Robin's face. She could tell that he was trying to decipher exactly what she had meant and why she was inviting him into her chambers.

To be honest, she wasn't exactly sure why, but she couldn't stop herself from doing so.

She pressed on the heavy doors immediately remembering how she had left the room not an hour before and she instantly hoped that Snow had been smart enough to vacate the vicinity. The last thing she wanted was to walk in and see her ex-step daughter, sitting on the edge of her bed with a toothy smile on her round face, as she returned to the room with the Thief in tow.

The doors creaked opened slowly and she made a quick glance around.

Seeing that her step daughter was no where in sight, Regina stepped into the room, turning to make sure that the man was following her.

He was. The look of confusion was still on his face but now it was diluted with conflicting emotions. He looked like he was going through a cycle of trepidation to elation to bewilderment. But he was following none the less, taking one hesitant step after another into the room.

She signaled for him to go past her and she turned, shutting the doors behind them when he did.

"Regina, wha-" he began but she cut him off.

"Wait."

He did.

She made sure to wait until she heard the doors 'click' shut, signaling that they were locked, before she turned back around.

She expected to see him standing right where he had been a few moments before, across the room from her, staring at the her. But he wasn't. When she turned she found him closer than she had imagined. Only a few feet away from her, looking down. If he had been any closer she would have brushed up against him as she spun around. Regardless of the missed contact, his presence still managed to be sending shivers throughout her body, as if he had knocked over a jar of butterflies, setting them free in her stomach.

It took her a minute to find her voice as she too looked downwards.

_"Robin I..."_  She started, swallowing the nervous lump that form in her throat so she could continue. "I'm not really sure where to begin. I don't really know how to say this."

"Well, why don't you start at the beginning." He said, his face still turned away from her.

Regina looked up, fixing the man with a glare, trying to decipher if he was being sarcastic. But she couldn't tell. Judging from his down cast eyes and forlorn expression she assumed he was serious.

She couldn't think. The deathly still sound of silence permeated the room. His scent was overpowering her and his nearness was making her mind frazzled. She was racking her brain, trying to come up with something -  _anything_  adequate enough to use as a reason for her asking him into her chambers.

She knew she was the Queen, and therefore needed no reason at all to ask anything of anyone. but with him things were different. With him she had become someone else entirely. He had allowed her to bring her guard down and he had let her be herself, openly and freely, for that she was grateful. So she would think of a reason. Even if it took her all night.

Robin, however, didn't seem to have the same idea.

"Well," he said after a long moment of silence, releasing a heavy breath through his nose, "If her Majesty has nothing further to say to me then I think it best to be on my way."

He tipped his head as if to say 'good night', his eyes still avoiding hers, taking a step forward to move around her but she reached out to stop him.

"Wait!" She said catching him by his arm mid step.

His eyes caught hers as they stumbled slightly from the forced stop, but he instantly cast them away when her hand landed on his chest to steady them.

"Robin, why won't you look at me?"

"If Milady would put on some clothing first I..." he began.

Regina was confused.

She looked down, following the slight nod of his head and then realized for the first time that night what she was wearing. When she had gone back to her chambers earlier in the evening, before Snow had come to give her one of her famous pep talks, she had been planning on heading to bed and retiring early in the hopes to escape confronting the conflicting emotions tumbling around in the pit of her stomach.

She had bathed, washing away the grime from their long trek back. Letting the warm water cleanse her hair, separating the strands one by one and making them silky smooth again. She sat for a while letting the heat soothe her battered muscles and loosen the knots that had formed in her shoulders, skimming over her injured leg. When she had finished she dried herself, reaching out for the nearest night gown that she knew hung on the back of her bathroom door. Regina found herself missing the ease of the 21st century world that she had left a few months prior, wishing that she could just slip on one of her silk teddies from her closet in Storybrooke and fall fast asleep thanks to modern medicine. However there was no such thing as a sleeping pill, nor a short nightgown in the Enchanted Forest and she hadn't taken the time to conjure any new ones of her own. So, she put it on.

This one however was a bit more modern then any of the others that she owned, bordering on scandalous. It had come from her days as the Evil Queen, the deep shade of purple was made by layers of chiffon that wrapped around her torso and draped over her shoulders, just covering her breasts with the gauzy layers. However whenever she moved, or caught the light just right they would become sheer rendering her top half completely visible. She hadn't been paying much attention when she had grabbed it, for her mind had been otherwise preoccupied, realizing that not even twenty four hours before it had been the thief assisting her with these trivial things since she hadn't the ability to do so herself then.

She felt her mouth drop into a little 'o' as she released a breath, understanding why he had been avoiding her gaze ever since they had reached the room. The hallways of the castle had been dark, only lit by the single wicker candles that were mounted every few paces along the walls, however there in her chambers sat a fully fledged fire that was crackling in the corner of the room, luminous orange embers bouncing everywhere. The light reflecting from it most likely hit her just right, highlighting her assets more than before, causing her top to become completely see through.

Looking up at him, Regina could clearly see that his eyes were looking everywhere but at her. His face flushed red from the hotness of the fire or the heat of his embarrassment, or from his view of her, she could not tell. With a flick of her wrist she changed attire, settling for a set of more decent sleeping robes.

The moment she reemerged from the purple cloud that engulfed her however, Robin's eyes shot up.

"How did you do that?" He spouted.

Regina tilted her head slightly, confused. She would have thought that by now everyone in the kingdom knew that she wielded magic. Her powers had been the talk of most of the castle when they had returned, due to everyone wondering if it had returned to her in full since they had arrived back to the Enchanted Forest. Her powers were stronger than the most famed sorcerers in the realm and she had used it the first day that they had met, and again when they had been attacked by the winged monkey a week ago. She knew that he knew she had powers, but she answered his question anyway.

"Magic?" She said, almost questioningly.

"I mean," Robin said, seeming to realize the absurdity of his question. "I thought you had lost it. Ever since the attack you hadn't used it once. I thought that something might have happened to your ability to access it, like a side effect of the Witches poison."

Regina thought back, recounting all of her time in the cabin, that she had been their healing. He was right, she hadn't once utilized her powers. Not even to reheat her food when it had gotten cold sitting off to the wayside as she forgot about it, pretending to be staring out the window when she had actually been staring at him out of the corner of her eyes.

She could see why he would have thought that she might have lost her magic. She had completely forgotten about using it that week. For the first time in her life, Regina had felt like she didn't need it.

"Apparently I was wrong," he said, snapping her out of her train of thought. "Thank you for..." he continued, trailing off, nodding instead of finish his sentence.

Regina looked down, surveying the now white and very opaque night gown she was wearing.

She hummed, muttering under her breath, 'it's not like you haven't seen it before.'

"That was different."

Her eyes snapped up at his comment. She felt the blood rushing to her cheeks before she even had time to register what he had said. She had  _not_  meant for him to hear her! But he had, and now she was at a loss for words. Again.

She could feel the embarrassment as it creeped it's way across her face. She had known since the first day when she had woken up in the cabin, washed and dressed in new clothing that he had bathed and; therefore changed her, but he hadn't spoken about it since. He had been a perfect gentlemen. Treating her kindly and courteously, respecting her privacy. However she wasn't used to such charitable treatment. She was used to people treating her like a pawn, only servicing her when it gained something for them in return. But he hadn't done that. He had helped her out of the kindness of his heart. Because he had wanted to. She gulped.

When she spoke her words came out as barely more than a whisper, "Thank you."

"What?" Robins eyes shot to hers, searchingly as he asked.

Regina released a breath, still unable to speak in more than a whisper, "You heard me."

She watched closely as the man's facial expressions clued her into exactly what he was thinking. Confusion first crossed his face, settling heavily in the creases above his brow, but it was soon replaced as they raised up in astonishment.

"For what exactly?" He questioned.

"For everything..." She said timidly at first. But once the comment had left her mouth it was like a dam had been broken and a whole tidal wave came rushing forth, spilling from her lips. "For having my back, for being patient with me, for taking care of me, for healing me, for coming with me to find the monkey's in the first place..." She went on, only stopping when she found she needed to breathe.

"I realize that I'm not the easiest of people to be stuck with, let alone too tend to, or care for, and I wanted to let you know that, though I may do a poor job of showing it, I am grateful. I'm indebted to you."

"You have nothing to be indebted to me for," he said, stepping closer, "I did what any man would have."

Regina shook her head, "No, they would not have."

It was only when she felt his fingers wrap under her chin, tilting her head upwards, that she looked at him again.

"What do you mean?"

Regina released a shaky breath, feeling raw emotions forming in the pit of her stomach and she begged them to stay there.

"Anyone else would have left me there to die.  _Killed while searching for the Wicked Witches monkeys. Death by beast_ , it would have been a perfect alibi." She spoke, blinking back the traitorous tears that had crawled their way up, threatening to fall.

She didn't know what it was about him that brought out her emotions. He seemed to be able to pull them from her at the drop of a dime. A moment before, she would have sworn she was fine, trying to get her racing heart beat under control from being this close to him once again, but now she was finding it difficult to take a full breath without wheezing.

"Regina" he said.

She felt the pad of his thumb ghosting over her cheek and then, despite all of her efforts, one treacherous tear made it's way out of her eye and fell down her cheek.

The moment she felt him wipe it away, his hand cupping her face, she shut her eyes.

They were watery when she reopened them, and from her standing point his features became somewhat muddled, but she could make out his outline hovering next to her just fine.

"So," She continued when her voice returned to her, "I just wanted to make sure that you knew. I owe you."

He shook his head again. "You owe me nothing Regina, I did it because I wanted to."

She looked up, her eyes connecting with his for what felt like the thousandth time. However this time there was something new in his orbs. Their deep cerulean blue was lighter than normal, flecks of silvery grey reflecting in the surfaces.

She stared, her own eyes blinking rapidly to get rid of the unwanted tears.

They were close. Again, like all of those times in the cabin. She could feel his breath on her cheek, the hand that had wrapped around her back slowly rubbing up and down sending more shivers through her. She readjusted herself, her leg starting to cramp from their position.

"I really should let you rest," Robin said, noticing her movement.

"Just answer me one thing." She said.

Regina wasn't sure where her words were coming from. She was listening to them as they came out and if she hadn't said them, nor felt her lips moving, she would have sworn they were coming from someone else.

Nevertheless, she took his silence as a cue to go on and she asked what had been clawing at the back of her mind all night.

"When we were in the cabin, on the last night, I- _I,_  " she stuttered, suddenly finding her throat beginning to clench up, she pushed through despite the nerves that were rattling inside of her, "I asked you to kiss me... You had my full permission, I asked you. Why didn't you?"

"Because you're not just anyone Regina. And you deserve better than some drug-induced sympathy kiss."

She watched the way his eyes defaulted to her lips and felt the way his hands tightened on her hips.  _So he_ had _wanted to kiss her?_

"But you did want to?" She asked, to clarify.

His eyes shut, whether it was because he was afraid of his answer or more afraid of her response, she did not know.

"God knows I did. Still do," He said, eyes still closed. Regina felt a shiver run from the base of her neck and down her spine, as he spoke again. "But I know I can't."

"Why not?" She asked, suddenly confused by his confession. She had thought it was her who couldn't bring herself to kiss him, but hearing him speak now made her reevaluate the past week.

"Because you are the Queen, Regina, and whether I agree with it or not, I am not a suitable choice for royalty. Thieves do not win the hearts of Queens, and no manner of good deeds will ever change that fact."

Regina nodded her head slowly, mulling over his words.

"You are right." She finally said, slowly. The normally composed man's shoulders began to droop infinitely lower than they had been moments before as he released a heavy breath.

She continued, "I am the Queen, and as such, it is me who will choose whom I am allowed to like..."

His head popped back up from where it had dropped.

She took a deep breath and finished, "Who I am allowed to love."

"What?"

Regina swallowed and whispered. "You heard me."

For a moment the man before her did nothing, she wasn't even sure if he was still breathing. But then he blinked, taking in a short, sharp, shaky breath. The look of shock that took over his face was almost enough to break her heart.

"You really like that phrase, don't you?" He breathed.

Her heart sank into her shoes as she realized at last how much she wanted him. No matter what her past was, no matter what she had done. Which was not to say that she would ever let him know, but only that he moved her chemically more than anyone she had ever met, he had cared for her nonetheless and all other men now seemed pale beside him.

Regina stood up, balancing on her tip-toes as her hand curled around his neck. She tugged, ever so softly as her hands weaved through his hair. She had done this before, back in the cabin, when she had wanted to kiss him for saving her life and had thought she was going to, until she saw his mark. That had stopped her then. But now, now nothing could stop her. She was drawn into his eyes. The little sparks of light from the fire, flickered in his irises, making them glow.

He held no fear of her there. Admiration was the only thing that she could make out in his blue eyes. They were dark, like the color of the night sky. She ran her other hand through his stubble, cupping his face.

Robins eyes fluttered shut as she did so. She watched as he breathed out, releasing a low breath between his pink lips. He was beautiful. His face showed so much about him. The lines above his brow from his constant worrying, the dimples on his cheeks from his wide smile. Everything about him was perfect.

She shook her head lightly, looking into his eyes and whispered.

"Kiss me."

And this time, he did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ID thinks that there should be another section added to this chapter... something along the lines of 'what happened in between the kiss and them showing up late at breakfast'... i don't know - what do you all think? leave me your thoughts/reviews/questions/comments/kudos in the reviews & I shall talk to you later!

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading and do leave a comment, they really do fuel me! mwah x


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